A Boy, A Girl, and a Halloween Party
by BaBySmurf
Summary: Tomoyo is throwing a MAJOR kick-butt halloween party- Will Sakura come? Will she be scared silly? Will she seek comfort in the arms of a certain amber-eyed boy? READ & REVIEW! *~*CHAPTER EIGHT(8) UP*~* :throws party: YAAAAY!
1. Invitation

A Boy, a Girl, and a Halloween Party  
  
by ~BaBySmurf~  
  
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~  
  
"Oh Tomoyo! That's wonderful! It's going to be so exciting!!" exclaimed a cheerleader with beautiful shoulder-length auburn hair to her best friend. Tomoyo was going to throw a Halloween Party, and everyone was invited. The two friends started chatting about how much fun it was going to be, and what everyone was gonna wear, when a different idea struck Sakura. She stopped in her tracks, "Wait- this isn't going to be a...a...a Ha-HAUNTED Halloween Party..." she questioned, fear evident in her eyes. "Is it?" she squeaked.  
  
The girl beside her smiled slyly. "That's just something you'll have to see for yourself!" Tomoyo said with a glint in her eyes. She started to walk away, her jet-black hair swishing behind her.  
  
Her best friend scrambled to catch up with her, and started again, "I- I mean there's not gonna be any sc-scary stories, or- or spooky mon-monsters hiding behind doors or anything like that.... right ??" she asked shakily.  
  
Tomoyo smiled evily. "Let's just say that this isn't going to be your average Halloween Bash..." she said.  
  
Sakura looked frightened for a moment then, "Well, if you're hosting a haunted house or something like that, then...then I'm just not going." Sakura said with false confidence, not daring to look Tomoyo in the eye.  
  
Tomoyo pouted. "Come on Sakura! It's just harmless fun and games! Besides, I already made you the most PERFECT costume to wear!!"  
  
"Well, I guess that's too bad, because you KNOW I'm frightened to death of ghosts, or, or spooks.... or....monsters....."  
  
Tomoyo laughed "Sakura, you're scaring yourself! Stop it." She sighed. "You'll dissapoint a lot of people if you don't show up Sakura! Everybody's going to be there! Chiharu, Eriol, Naoko, Rika, Yamazaki" Tomoyo decided to pull out the bomb, "...and Li...." She chuckled silently to herself at the expected blush from Sakura at the mention of the amber-eyed boys name.  
  
Still blushing, Sakura managed to huff, "You don't expect me to go to your Halloween party just because Syao-- Li's going to be there, do you?" She said still blushing.  
  
Tomoyo smirked, 'this is just too easy' she thought. "Actually.... I do!"  
  
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~  
  
Later that night Tomoyo phoned up Li. Actually she had no idea whether or not Li was going, but she knew exactly what to say to make him come...  
  
"Moshi-Moshi, Syaoran speaking." said a male voice on the other end of the phone.  
  
"Hello Li-kun! If you hadn't heard yet, I'm hosting a Halloween Party.." she started.  
  
"What a suprise." Remarked the 15 year old boy.  
  
Tomoyo ignored his remark, "And you are invited!" she said happily.  
  
"Funny Tomoyo. And why are you expecting me to come to a meaningless Halloween party?" he said flatly. As you can tell, Syaoran is obviously not a party boy.  
  
"Well, I would expect you to come if you knew a certain emerald-eyed beauty was going to be there..." she said smiling evilly.  
  
Syaoran sat up straight, "Um... Well, What kind of party is this going to be???" he said stuttering a little.  
  
Tomoyo shook her head, 'this boys got it bad- I can feel his blush over the phone!' she thought. "Oh, It's just the kind of party where some certain people may end up being scared silly and end up needing to be conforted by a some strong handsome male willing to save her from the evil creatures hiding under the bed." she said innocently.  
  
"Uh.. Well- Well maybe... I'll go.. I mean ya know, If everybody else is going to be there... " he said trying to act cool, yet failing, "But...what would I wear?" he asked.  
  
"No problem!" Tomoyo said gladly, "I have JUST the thing! I made it myself!"  
  
Syaoran sighed, "Oh Joy." he said hanging uo the phone.  
  
Tomoyo giggled, "This is going to be the GREATEST party ever known!!!!!!!"  
  
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~  
  
Hey ya's all!  
  
Anyway, I wrote this 3 days before Christmas, yes, I know WAY out of season, but I was suddenly struck with inspiration and had to write it down before I lost it.  
  
Also, I prefer longer chapters, but this was the best I could do, considering that I don't expect this to be the longest fic in the world and I didn't want to write TOO much in the very first chapter. Oh Yeah, Also, I don't really have to much of a clue as to where this is going to lead to..so I would really appreciate any and all inspiration!  
  
Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed it!--  
  
but PLEASE R & R !!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!  
  
THANK-YOU!! ^_^  
  
~BaBySmurf~ 


	2. The Beginning

A boy, a Girl, and a Halloween Party  
  
~BaBySmurf~  
  
  
  
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~  
  
  
  
*beep beep beep beep beep*  
  
Sakura turned in her sleep  
  
*beep beep beep beep beep*  
  
"mmmmhhhh, go away....." she mumbled.  
  
*beep beep beep beep beep*  
  
Sakura covered her head with a pillow.  
  
*beep beep beep beep beep*  
  
Sakura groaned and pushed the alarm clock to the floor with a crash. "Mmmm, all better." she sighed sleepily.  
  
~half an hour later~  
  
"Sakura. Sakura!.... SAKURA!!!" shouted what appeared to be a tiny flying teddy bear  
  
Sakura rolled off the bed, tangled in her blankets, "Mmmft mmf mmt Mmmm!" she shouted- or at least tried to.  
  
"You're going to be late for school." Kero said slowly. Sakura jumped up and tripped over her blankets. Kero rolled his eyes, "Again I might add."  
  
Kero watched lazily as Sakura scarambled around the house trying to comb her hair, put on her uniform, and brush her teeth all at the same time. She flew down the stairs and grabbed her bookbag. Fujitaka was standing at the doorway with a piece of toast. "Thanks Dad!" she called. Sakura shoved the piece of toast in her mouth as she jumped up and down trying to get her roller blades on while standing up straight. Finally she had her skates on securely and raced out the door.  
  
"Have fun at school!" her father called as she sped around the corner.  
  
'I've got to start getting up on time!' she thought angrily to herself.  
  
"You've got to start getting up on time!" called a male voice beside her.  
  
"Hoe?" Sakura looked around and saw Li on a bicycle beside her. She blushed and looked questioningly at him.  
  
Syaoran laughed at her strange expression, "Late for school again, Right?" Sakura only blushed again in reply. "Hop on!" he called.  
  
Sakura watched as he quickly pulled in front of her and she instinctively grabbed the back of his seat. Syaoran sped up. He was heading for Coles Avenue, the quickest way to get to school, obviously because it was headed downhill.  
  
Sakura may have been an excellent skater, but she didn't do hills much, especially not steep hills like this one. "Are you sure about this? " Sakura asked warily, but Syaoran, nothing but excitement in his eyes, didn't hear her. Probably because he was too busy focusing on trying to keep his cool in such close proximity to his favorite little cheerleader.  
  
"Get ready..." Syaoran called. They turned a hard right on to Coles, their combined weight carrying them fast on to the next street. Sakura seperated herself from Syaoran's bike, trying to decrease her momentum so she'd go down the hill slower. Unfortunately, it didn't work and Sakura raced past Li and cruised down the hill at lightning speed.  
  
"Wh-Whaa- Whooaaaa!!!" Sakura couldn't even hear herself speak, just the sound of wind rushing past her ears.  
  
Syaoran watched wild eyed as she rushed past an old woman, startling the heck out of both of them. He pedaled hard to catch up with Sakura and waved an apology at the old woman.  
  
Sakura flew down the hill not even seeing her surrondings. "Oh My God, Oh My God, Oh My God!!!!!!!" Up ahead was a lazy turn into the schoolyard. "Syaoran why did you do this to me!!!!!!!" she shrieked. She shut her eyes tight and started praying.  
  
Syaoran had almost caught up to her, "SAKURA WATCH OUT!!" he yelled.  
  
Sakura opened her eyes wide just in time to see herself approaching the curve into the school yard. Sakura skated around the corner and breathed a sigh of relief seeing her high-school in front of her. The hill for the most part had leveled out, and Sakura thought she was safe, but she hadn't counted on the speed bumps. "Uh-oh." She charged straight into it and went sailing into the air. Sakura couldn't even shut her eyes. She did a flip in midair, and thudded softly onto her back in the grassy ground of the school yard.  
  
Syaoran pulled up sharply next to her and hopped off his bike, "Are you all right?" he said kneeling out of breath next to Sakura  
  
Tomoyo had seen the whole thing from across the yard, and ran up to the two, "Sakura, that was amazing!! And I got the whole thing on tape!!" she turned and saw Li bent down next to her friend. "Sakura, get up! ...You're not hurt are you?" she asked warily.  
  
Sakura was laying on the ground, her emerald-eyes staring upwards at nothing.  
  
"Sakura???" Li asked, anxiety in his eyes. "Sakura what's wrong?? Are you hurt?" concern filled his voice.  
  
Tomoyo dropped her camera and bent down closer to her friend. "Sakura, are you okay?" she said patting her on the cheek.  
  
Sakura remained looking up at the sky.  
  
Tomoyo turned towards Li, "WHAT DID YOU DO!" she shouted.  
  
"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!!!!!" he shouted back.  
  
Sakura stirred and they both turned to look at her. She blinked, "Woah. That was wild." she said softly.  
  
Tomoyo and Li sighed in relief. The blask-haired girl immediately picked her camera back up and started taping.  
  
"Oh I'm so glad you're all right!" Li exclaimed.  
  
Sakura turned to look at him suprise in her wide green eyes, "Really?"  
  
Syaoran rambled on, "Well yeah! I was worried you were knocked out or something! I'm just glad you're not hurt!" he blushed a little at what he'd said, then in a quieter voice, "I'm sorry, I guess, for taking you down that hill...I didn't mean for you to.. well, you know."  
  
Tomoyo trained her camera on him and grinned.  
  
Sakura smiled up at him, and he blushed, "Don't worry about it, as scary as that was, it was totally exciting!" She jumped to her feet, "Let's do it again!"  
  
"NO! You could get hurt again!" Li shouted, "I- I mean, there's no time, and anyway, we should be getting to class."  
  
Tomoyo giggled behind her camera, 'So sweet!' she thought.  
  
"You're right," Sakura said, "It'd be a shame to be late after all that."  
  
Syaoran blushed and locked his bike up, then headed towards the school building with Sakura at his side. Tomoyo walked in front of them, facing the 'couple' and filming every blush.  
  
"Tomoyo do you have to!" whined Sakura.  
  
"Of course I do. It's what I live for! Someday I'll make a movie featuring my two favorite subjects- You two!"  
  
Syaoran rolled his eyes, and just walked on.  
  
The trio walked together through the hallway. All the while Tomoyo taping them.  
  
"You know if you keep walking backwards like that, you'll run into something." Syaoran said.  
  
"That's a chance I'm willing to-" she stopped as she backed into something, and turned to see who it was.  
  
"Hello, beautiful." Eriol said with a twinkle in his eye.  
  
Tomoyo looked up at him and smiled, "Oh hi, Eriol, I didn't see you."  
  
Eriol just wrapped his arms around Tomoyo's waist and kissed her softly on the nose. The violet-eyed girl giggled and ran her hand through his hair.  
  
Syaoran coughed, "Uh, Guys, there are others present..." he said blushing  
  
Sakura turned pink at the couple's outward display of emotion and started walking to her next class.  
  
Tomoyo pulled reluctantly away from Eriol's embrace. "Wait Up. Sakura, I-" Eriol pulled up behind his girlfriend and rested his chin on her head, "I forgot to tell you that-" he started blowing softly in her ear. Tomoyo giggled and continued, "You need to drop by my house after school so I can- " she started to giggle again. "So I can-" she started laughing, "Eriol- Baby, stop! Just hold on a second! Anyway, you need to drop by my place after school so I can make sure I've got all the measurements right for the costume I made for my Halloween Party. Okay!"  
  
Sakura smiled, "Sure! I'll be there!"  
  
Tomoyo immediately turned back to her impatient boyfriend, and Sakura started walking to her classroom.  
  
"Do I need to stop by and be fitted for mine too??" Syaoran asked Tomoyo. She didn't answer, obviously to preoccupied with pleasing her handsome boyfriend.  
  
"oh-kay..." he said sighing. Syaoran turned back to find Sakura. She was at her locker putting her rollerblades inside. She slammed the locker-door shut and smiled at Li, causing him to blush. "Shall we?"  
  
They walked down the hallway together passing Tomoyo and Eriol now intimately making out. Syaoran sighed sighed and commented to Sakura, "That Hiragizawa fellow's no good." he sighed, "Well, At least he got Tomoyo to stop taping us. But that's about all he's good for."  
  
Sakura laughed, "That's not 'all he's good for'. Besides, I think it's good for Tomoyo to be involved in a...well.. a healthy relationship." she said blushing.  
  
Syoran was blushing too. "Well lets hope they don't end up sucking each others faces clean off."  
  
Sakura laughed again. Syaoran smiled- He loved her laugh, and loved making her laugh even more. Sakura stopped at a doorway and looked inside it cringing.  
  
"What is it?" Syaoran asked loking inside.  
  
Sakura shuddered, "Algebra first period. Uck"  
  
Syaoran chuckled, "Well, good luck." He said, "Though I still don't think you have any reason to not like it."  
  
Sakura peeked inside the classroom. "Easy for you to say! You're in honors extra-super-calculus or something like that."  
  
Syaoran smiled, "Well maybe you could come-" he froze considering what he'd almost said. 'Should I? Or should I not....' he thought.  
  
"Maybe I could what?" Sakura asked looking at him.  
  
'Syaoran,' he told himself 'it's not that hard, just a few simple words, thats it... Relax. God, her eyes are so beautiful....'  
  
"Syaoran??? Hello????" Sakura waved a hand in front of his face.  
  
Li took a deep breath, "Maybe you could co-- come over to m-my place....and I could help you with it......" he said turning an alarming shade of red.  
  
"Oh could I?!?" she asked happily. Syaoran forced himself to nod. "Oh thank-you, thank-you, thank-you! Mrs. Burns said I was in danger of failing this class. Oh, you're a lifesavor!" Sakura couldn't contain herself and hugged him tight, blushed deeply. Syaoran froze in place, 'She-She's hugging me...I- I---'  
  
"Is tonight good?" she asked. Syaoran just stood there. "Uh-- I'll take that as a yes. Thanks again!" Sakura called and walked confidently into the classroom.  
  
Syaoran stood there for a moment, not too sure if he'd be able to walk, just staring into the classroom as Sakura took her seat and pulled out her books.  
  
The late-bell rang and he glanced at the beautiful auburn-haired girl one more time before taking off to his own class.  
  
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~  
  
LOVE IS IN THE AIR!!!-- sorry, I couldn't help myself.  
  
Anyway, in my own personal opinion, that chapter was nothing but mucho sweetness. *sigh* I love S+S.  
  
By The Way- I'm hoping this chapter will compensate for the last one, which was unbelieveably short.  
  
Also- This was originally gonna be strictly a S+S fic, but I couldn't help myself-- Eriol and Tomoyo are a just a way cute couple.  
  
Hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to Review please!!!  
  
THANKS FOR READING! 


	3. The Dress

A Boy, a Girl, and a Halloween Party  
  
~BaBySmurf~  
  
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~  
  
Sakura managed to suffer through Algebra, and then Civics class, which she only survived by passing notes about the upcoming party with Tomoyo.  
  
Finally the bell rang and she headed to Gym with her best friend. Chiharu suddenly appeared beside Sakura, "Hey, Tomoyo, how's the plans for the party coming?" she asked.  
  
"GREAT!" Tomoyo exclaimed excitedly. "We got these AWESOME decorations, and my mom even got a hold of a local group that's supposed to be reeeeaaally good, to play for us, and - Oh it'll be wonderful!"  
  
"Wait," Sakura said turning to Tomoyo. "You didn't tell me there would be a band there!" Sakura's green eyes were wide with excitement.  
  
"Well of course there'll be a band Sakura! I wouldn't have it any other way! This party has to be excellent! No exceptions!" Tomoyo said.  
  
Chiharu leaned closer to Tomoyo and lowered her voice, "And what about the... well you know..." she said her eyes flickering towards Sakura.  
  
Tomoyo grinned evilly and whispered back at her. Chiharu's eyes lit up and she started giggling uncontrolably, "Oh, This is gonna be great!"  
  
Sakura warily eyed the two, "Uh, What exactly is um.. What exactly are you two planning?" she questioned swallowing hard.  
  
Tomoyo smiled confidently and patted Sakura on the sholder. "Nothing but the greatest party any of us will ever live to see." Tomoyo said.  
  
Naturally this did nothing to calm Sakura's fears. Tomoyo grinned slyly and added under her breath, "And the scariest...."  
  
~@~@~@~  
  
Tomoyo and Sakura were riding in a sleek limousine towards the Daidouji residence.  
  
Sakura was brooding about the party. There was obviously something else going on between Tomoyo and the other girls. The whole day Rika, Naoko-- even Yamazaki had come up to Tomoyo to whisper something about this 'wonderful' party in her ear. "Now Tomoyo," she started for the thousandth time, "I HATE anything scary- I haven't exactly tried to hide that fact over the years we've been friends, now is this going to be a spooky party or what??" she inquired.  
  
Tomyo could obviously see that she wouldn't get anywhere ignoring the question. Of course she absolutely could not tell Sakura it was going to be the biggest haunted house since the beginning of time, but she couldn't flat out lie to her either. "Sakura, "she started, "Uh-- This party really means a lot to me... and I really want you to be there, it just wouldn't be the same if you weren't there..." Sakura sat silent. 'oh boy this is going to be tough' Tomoyo thought. "I really want you to come- Really! And if you didn't come just because of some silly little childhood fear... Well, it would really hurt my feelings...." Tomoyo bowed her head, her hair covering her face, and anxioualy awaited the answer. She didn't even know if this would work. If it didn't, the only thing left to insure Sakura would come would be the waterworks, and she really didn't feel like pulling that on her friend.  
  
"Tomoyo, I know that it's basically impossible to not get scared at a Halloween party, and I'm willing to go through that." Tomoyo breathed a sigh of relief, 'thank the Gods!' "And so, I'm gonna say that-- I'm trusting that you.... won't do anything to drastic to scare the living daylights outta me." Tomoyo grimaced, 'WHAT! Where's the fun in that! Besides, that was a major part of my whole plan!' she thought. "Yes, I'll come." Sakura said smiling.  
  
'Uh-oh, I'm in trouble, what do I do, what do I do, What do i do?!?' Tomoyo put on a happy face and finished her act, "Oh Thank-you Sakura! I knew you'd pull through for me!" she said hugging her friend.  
  
"Now about my costume..." Sakura started as the vehicle pulled up to the house, oh excuse me, mansion.  
  
Tomoyo jumped out of the car, exicited once more, "Oh, It's the best! It's positively beautiful!! And I know you'll love it!!" and so will Li-kun! she added to herself.  
  
Tomoyo dragged Sakura across the courtyard and inside the humongous house, then down several long hallways and up and down a good many staircases. Sakura tried to keep track of which way they'd gone, but it was useless. She was sure that if she'd tried to navigate herself through the gignatic estate, she'd without a doubt get lost.  
  
Finally they stopped at a wooden door that looked quite foreboding. Tomoyo squeaked it open. Inside were piles of beautiful fabric of all different colors stacked, or rather tossed, all over the room. Sakura looked awed at the display and went from one piece of fabric to the next, fingering them and admiring the beauty of each and every piece. As she went along they seemed to get lovlier with each step until finally, resting on a mannequin at the head of a room was a gorgeous dress.  
  
It was pale pink in color and designed as one an old-time princess might wear. The neck was cut low with rows of tiny glass beads decorating the bodice. The magnificent gown had beautiful bell sleeves that were cinched at the elbow and hung almost to the ankle. The skirt of the gown consisted of layers of silk hanging loosely over one another, shimmering and reflecting the lights in the room.  
  
A light, sheer piece of fabric came from under the arms and was held closed underneath the bodice by a single button. It hung the length of the gown, acting almost as the bottom half of a jacket, and trailed a few inches on the ground with the rest of the beautiful dress.  
  
Sakura's eyes sparkled as she gazed at the magnificent garment. "Tomoyo- this is...this is beautiful! I love it! And you made this all yourself?" Tomoyo beamed. "This is truly amazing." Sakura noticed a small tiara resting on a footstool nearby. It too was beautiful. The base was a large silver ring, while hundreds of miniature silver bands criss-crossed and entwined together at the front, forming an intricate display of beauty. "You made this too?" she asked in disbelief.  
  
Tomoyo blushed modestly, "No, Actually that I had to buy, but it is still unbelievable, ne?"  
  
"It's marvelous..." Sakura said in complete awe.  
  
"Now, stop looking and start dressing, this is YOUR gown for the Halloween party and I need to make sure it fits!" Tomoyo said starting to remove the dress from the mannequin.  
  
Sakura looked shocked, "Me??? Wear this?!?! My God Tomoyo, it's much too gorgeous! I mean, I love it but-- you went through all this trouble just for me?!? What if it just doesn't look right on me..."  
  
"Sakura! That's nonsense- I made this dress and I want YOU to wear it. Unless you're going to refuse me the oppourtunity to show-off my latest work-of-art???" Tomoyo said her eyebrows raised, hands on her hips. Sakura shook her head. "I thought so. Now get in there and change!" Tomoyo said pushing her friend towards a small connecting room.  
  
Sakura had no choice but to get dressed in the fabulous gown. Tomoyo waited outside, sorting through the piles of fabric for the begginings of Syaoran's costume. About 5 or 10 minutes later she heard someone clear their throat behind her. Tomoyo looked towards the door she'd led Sakura through and gasped.  
  
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~  
  
OH HO HO!!!!! Cliff-hanger! WHOOOOO! Well, some people might argue that it's not really a cliffhanger, but in my opinion it is.  
  
Note--- bell sleeves (the ones on Sakura's dress) are sleeves where the cuffs hang down low- usually as long as the dress. Right now can't really recal any famous bell-sleeves, but I think, repeat think, that Meiling's costume for when she's out for cards with Li has bell sleevs. Remember, I'm not sure if she does, but I'm maybe 90% sure that they are, or at least sort of look like it.  
  
ANYWAY-- I hope you liked it.  
  
And as always, Please review-- you can send them to  
  
libby0880@yahoo.com or just do it on the website. 


	4. Study Date

A Boy, a Girl, and a Halloween Party  
  
~BaBySmurf  
  
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~  
  
Tomoyo took the excusite dress from Sakura's hands and placed it on a table for her to make the finishing touches on. "I swear Sakura, you looked amazing in it!" Every guy at the party will be falling all over themselves trying to get even a look at you!"  
  
Sakura was practiacally glowing-- she'd REALLY loved the dress. "Oh, I can't wait to wear it again at the party, Oh I just loved it. Though I don't believe what you said; not every guy will be-"  
  
"Oh yes they will! And I know a certain special someone will be extremely interested in you..." Tomoyo teased in a sing-song voice.  
  
Sakura took a deep breath trying to hide her blush. "Tomoyo I don't know what you're talking about!"  
  
Tomoyo rolled her eyes, "Oh, Don't try to deny it Sakura, I know you are desperately in love," Tomoyo flung her arms back and fell onto the bed "With..." she paused dramatically, "Li Syaoran...." she whispered.  
  
Sakura giggled and blushed some more. "Am not! And even if I was it's not such a big deal!" she paused, "The only bad thing about it is that he'd never feel the same way that I do....." she said, her eyes downcast.  
  
Tomoyo laughed, "So you admit it- you do have a thing for Li!" Sakura sat there silent and Tomoyo stopped giggling. "Sakura," she said putting an arm around her best friends shoulders, "Any guy would be lucky to have you. You're beautiful, you're kind...you're the sweetest girl I've ever known. Li would be a fool to not see that. Besides, anything could happen, you never know what may be waiting around the corner...."  
  
Sakura smiled weakly, "And what exactly do you mean by that..." she said lifting an eyebrow.  
  
"Oh nothing. Just remember to expect the unexpected Sakura...."  
  
the two friends smiled at each other. Sakura suddenly jumped up, "Oh shoot, I can't believe I forgot!! Tomoyo what time is it!" Sakura asked desperately.  
  
"Only about 5:30, 6:00 I don't know..."  
  
Sakura let out a sigh and flopped back onto Tomoyo's bed, "Oh, that's a relief."  
  
Tomoyo looked suspicious, "And why might that be?"  
  
"Oh, Syaoran promised that he'd tutor me a bit in math tonight, and for a second I thought I blew it." Sakura said twiddling with the plaits of her skirt.  
  
Tomoyo's eyes grew round, "Is that so? Well, you've GOT to let me pick out what you're going to wear!" she said jumping up and rushing to a closet.  
  
"What?!?! Tomoyo, I don't need some fancy outfit for this! It's not even a date!!!" Sakura said trying to resist Tomoyo dragging her towards the closet where a 100+ outfits were stored.  
  
"That's not the point!" she said grabbing a couple outfits and holding them up to Sakura. "The point is to torture Li...."  
  
Sakura's head snapped up, "What did you say?!?!?!?!"  
  
Tomoyo looked at her strangely, "I said that's not the point. Why..."  
  
"Tomoyo I distinctly heard you say that the point was to torture Li!" Sakura said putting her hands on her hips.  
  
Tomoyo shook her head, "Sakura! I said nothing of the sort! You're imagining things! OH HO HO!! Wait a second- You want to torture Li!?!?" Sakura looked shocked and Tomoyo grinned evilly, "You bad, bad girl!!"  
  
"WHAT!?!?!" Sakura shouted turning deep red, "Where did that idea come from! I don't want to torture Li!"  
  
"Why are you denying this so much!" Tomoyo asked taking out some more outfits, "What are you trying to hide! Oh- I get it! You want to chain that bad-boy Li up to the wall and give him a good hard whipping for being such a ~naughty~ boy!" Tomoyo laughed a glint in her eye.  
  
Sakura turned purple, "TOMOYO!!!!! WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!! YOU HAVE A SICK MIND!"  
  
Tomoyo looked calm, "I'm not the one with the sick mind! You're the one imagining up that I said you want to torture Li- and that's because you're obsessed with the idea!"  
  
Sakura looked taken aback, "WHAT!"  
  
"Now you just take your nasty little mind into that room and try this on- and if you don't like it, I have one more for you." Tomoyo said handing her an outfit. Sakura just sat there spluttering as Tomoyo shoved her into the room. "Heh heh heh." she said getting her video-camera, "Me so evil...."  
  
A few minutes later Sakura stepped out of the room, "Uh, Tomoyo, I don't think this is too appropriate...... It's so-- tight..." Tomoyo started taping her right away. She was wearing a short white mini-skirt with tall black boots that came halfway up her calf. A black spaghetti-strap shirt sporting the saying, 'bad kitty' covered her top, revealing a bit of her stomach. "I don't know...." she said trying to pull the miniskirt back down a little lower.  
  
"Hmmmm..." Tomoyo said studying her friend.  
  
"Why are you taping me?" Sakura asked.  
  
Tomoyo smiled and tapped her trusty camera, "Just in case I need it for blackmail!" She grapped a white hankerchief and tied it around Sakura's neck. "Perfect!" she said.  
  
"Blackmail?!? What???" Tomoyo just ignored her. "Whatever." Sakura looked back at her outfit. "Are you sure about this...." The green-eyed girl asked again.  
  
"Trust me." Tomoyo said filming. "This will positively drive Li wild!"  
  
"What did you just say?!?!?" Sakura asked.  
  
Tomoyo rolled her eyes, "Here we go again! Sakura, I said trust me!"  
  
"Yeah, and then you said this'll positively drive Li wild!" Sakura said wildly.  
  
"And isn't that a good thing?" Tomoyo asked sweetly.  
  
"WHAT! I don't know! I mean-- never mind!" Sakura said shaking her head. "Just, let me try on the other outfit!" she said.  
  
Sakura headed back into the changing room and hopped back out a couple of minutes later. "I like this MUCH better!" she said.  
  
Tomoyo started her camera again. This one looked more modest, but it revealed her shape almost teasingly. She wore a long light-gray skirt that clung to her, accenting her hips and thighs. A lavender shirt with long- sleeves hung nicely over her top. The neck of the shirt could either be tied together, or left hanging loose. Sakura had let it hang loose, revealing her well formed neck and collarbone. the sleeves were a little long, her hands barely visible. The shirt hung close to her, following her curves.  
  
"Sakura, you're beautiful." Tomoyo said simply. "Ooh, one more thing-" she grabbed a small tube of sheer silver lipstick and let Sakura put it on. "Now hop to it and go suprise Li!!" she said.  
  
"What are you going to do with the other outfit?" Sakura asked gathering her things.  
  
Tomoyo raised an eyebrow, "Why, You might wanna use it sometime?" she giggled watching Sakura blush and and hold up her hands in defense "Actually, I was going to wear it." Tomoyo continued. "Eriol said he might come visit later today, so I guess I'll wear that."  
  
"Oooh! you bad girl!" Sakura giggled. It was Tomoyo's turn to blush. Sakura went on, "Let's just hope you're still a virgin by the end of the day!"  
  
"SAKURA!" shouted Tomoyo. She jumped up and lunged for her friend. Sakura shrieked and ran out of the room, a beet-red Tomoyo following close behind."OH! YOU WATCH IT GIRL!" she shouted chasing Sakura out of her mansion and across the lawn. Tomoyo stood at the edge of her estate watching a hysterical Sakura race down the street laughing her head off.  
  
Tomoyo shook her fist at Sakura and shouted, "I'm sure Li's not gonna get any sleep with what you're gonna do to him tonight- I'm just hoping you make it through the day without any unplanned pregnancies!" Sakura stopped dead in her tracks. From all the way down the street Tomoyo could see her friend turn the color of over-ripe tomtoes.  
  
"Dear Lord!" exclaimed a cracking voice from across the street. Tomoyo turned to see a wrinkly old woman sitting at a bus stop staring at her looking shocked. "Young People these days!" she said shaking her head.  
  
Tomoyo blushed and waved sheepishly at the disapproving old lady, then hurried back inside.  
  
~@~@~@~@~  
  
Sakura trudged slowly through the crisp fall air on her way to Syaoran's apartment. She was carrying her books in front of her, her eyes focused on some unseen thought. She crossed the darkening street and sighed. 'Maybe this wasn't such a good idea...' she thought glumly. 'I mean sure, it's just a study date-- er, night...of...studying...' Sakura sighed. 'I'm hopeless. Sakura, just chill out- this isn't such a big deal! I mean, How long have you known, Syaoran? Yeah, for the past 5 years- it's nothing to worry about!' she thought to herself as she started to climb the steps of Syaoran's apartment. 'You're right, Everything will be fine. Wait- Am I talking to myself? Yep- and you're answering to!' Suddenly she found herself standing at the door to her friend's house. 'Here I go.' she said preparing to knock.  
  
The door flung open before she could even knock and there stood a breathless Syaoran leaning against the dark woden door. "Hey Sakura." he said trying not to gasp for air. He looked her over and without thinking blurted out, "Wow, you look great tonight Sakura!"  
  
Sakura smiled at him and looked down at the outfit. "Thanks Syaoran! I'm glad you like it! Hmmmm..." Sakura paused for a moment. "Ohh! Something smells good..."  
  
"Oh, uh that's nothing...It's just... I- uh..." he looked like he was at a loss for words. He risked a glance at her curious face and offered meekly, "....cologne??" he blushed and looked at his shoes, "I-I-I...I mean, if you don't like it I can.." he turned away to go wash off the cologne he'd put on for the first time. The cologne that had been stashed, unused, in a drawer since practically forever until now.  
  
"No... I like it" she said pulling him back around. He looked at her hand on his shoulder. Sakura blushed and took her hand back. She looked him in the eye "It smells nice. Like...like evergreen trees and........autumn.." she paused for a moment and closed her eyes, as if concentrating on nothing but his scent. Syaoran watched her for a second or two then her green eyes snapped open and she blushed softly. "Sorry, I must have drifted off, May I come in?" Sakura said looking inside.  
  
"Oh- Uh, Sure, Come on in!' he said flustered. Sakura blushed as Syaoran took her arm and led her inside his apartment. "Uh, Well...What do you wanna start on first?" he said trying not to focus too much on how close he was to Sakura.  
  
"Uh, do we have to start right away?" Sakura said with a pleading look in her eyes. "I was hoping maybe we could just hang out a while before I subject myself to torture by math." Suddenly Sakura blushed heavily thinking about her 'conversation' with Tomoyo earlier about torture.  
  
"Su-Sure! We don't have to start right away." He looked at her redenning face and asked concerned, "Are you feeling okay? You look a little--- pink..." Sakura blushed some more, "No, I'm all right." Syaoran was still holding her arm, and Sakura turned even redder.  
  
"Are you sure? Maybe this wasn't such a good idea..." He said sounding dissapointed at his own words.  
  
"No really! It's fine!" Sakura said. She looked around for something else to turn his attention to. She finally took in the way the living room looked and gasped. "Syaoran, this place is a wreck! Look at it!" she said stepping forward and eyeing old food and dirty clothes everywhere.  
  
"Uh- I apologize-- I'm not much of a maid, and I don't really enjoy cleaning..." he said blushing. He rushed over to try to straighten things up. "I always say I'm gonna clean, and then I always get side-tracked..." he grabbed a couple week old t.v. dinner's off the floor and shoved them under the couch.  
  
"Well, I refuse to be taught under these conditions-" Syaoran stopped throwing some old socks into his room and looked at her. "So I guess I'll just have to clean it up." she said charging into the room and heading for the garbage can hiding under a heap of garbage.  
  
"Wh- What?" Syaoran asked confused, "You don't have to... I mean, It's my apartment, I should be the one cleaning the place up..." he tried to stop her from reaching back under the couch for the t.v. dinners.  
  
She kept on working. "Nonsense Syaoran, I'm perfectly okay cleaning up for a while. Why don't you make us something to eat?" she said throwing the pile of old trays away.  
  
"Syaoran scratched his head, "Actually... I don't cook..." he said embarrased.  
  
Sakura chuckled and contunued to work. "Then I guess I'll have to do that too!"  
  
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~  
  
This chapter was originally much longer, but I thought it'd be better to end it here instead of going on for like 8 more pages. Sorry if I disappointed some people, but you can expect the next chapter in a week or less.  
  
I hope you enjoyed it, and please continue to R & R! Reviews mean a lot to me and keep me motivated- so please feel free to send me one, either through e-mail or the good ol' fashioned way! ^_^  
  
My address is libby0880@yahoo.com  
  
Thanks for reading!!! 


	5. A Night to Themselves

A Boy, a Girl, and a Halloween Party  
  
~BaBySmurf  
  
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~  
  
Sakura was very thorough with her self-appointed task. She got rid of all the old garbage and even started a load of laundry for Syaoran- All the while ignoring his embarrassed protests. She even found a dusty old vaccume hidden in the closet and used it for most likely the first time in it's life.  
  
Sakura was sitting in the hallway dusting the pictures that were hanging there. Syaoran had long since stopped bugging her about cleaning, and so to try to salvage his male pride insisted on making ~something~ for their little dinner/snack.  
  
There was a loud crash, and Sakura heard a few colorful Chinese curses from the kitchen (which she had previously cleaned.)  
  
She rolled her eyes and took another picture off the wall to wipe clean. Sakura softly rubbed her washcloth over the two people sitting in the picture and smiled. It was a picture of her and Syaoran sitting at a table. Her arms were wrapped around him and she was resting her head on his shoulder She could detect a faint blush from Syaoran, but he was smiling at her with a look in his eyes that Sakura couldn't quite put a label on yet. The picture had no doubt been taken by Tomoyo. 'That girl and her camera. Sakura smiled to herself. Tomoyo was always telling the two of them that they were 'picture perfect' and this photograph definitely proved it.  
  
Even Sakura could see how easily she and Syapran worked together. Each complimented the other and they seemed made for each other.  
  
'Well no doubt, Tomoyo does have a talent for taking really great pictures... Like this one.' she thought running a finger over the messy- haired boy in the picture.  
  
Another crash from the kitchen brought her out of her thoughts and she hung the picture back on the wall next to the others.  
  
"Are you ok in there Syaoran?" she called. "I guess we could start in on my math..." Sakura suggested starting towards the kitchen.  
  
"Uh--- No, that's okay!" she heard Li call hurriedly, "I just need a little uh... A little more time!" he said  
  
Sakura shook her head, "Whatever you say!" She said wiping her hands off and placing the wash rag under the sink of the nearby bathroom. She headed for the living room, her awesome task finally complete. She draped herself on the couch and waited for Syaoran to return from his little adventure in cooking. Her eyes wandered around the room and she stuck her tounge out at her math books casually stacked on the floor. With a drawn- out sigh pulled them closer to herself.  
  
She flipped the book open to a random page and tried to concentrate on the numbers dancing around the page. After a few basically wasted minutes, she sighed in frustration and blew a piece of hair off her face. "I should just give up now..." she said tossing the book back to the floor.  
  
Her ears pricked up as a bump and a thud sounded from the kitchen and a flustered Li, with as much manliness as he could muster, entered the living room. He held a small tray balanced on one hand, like a waiter in a fancy restaurant. He gracefully stepped forward and entered the room heading towards Sakura. She was sprawled out on the couch and scrambled to sit up staright and look more presentable.  
  
Her jade eyes twinkled and she stiffled a giggle as Li came to a stop next to her. He presented the tray to Sakura, cleared his throat and put on a serious face, "May I present the product of many a long minute of hard labor..." he paused and stole a glance at her amused face, "...Punch a la' Li!"  
  
Sakura held back a silly grin and eyed the 2 tall glasses of red liquid resting on the tray. She raised an eyebrow and hesitantly asked, "...wine?"  
  
Syaoran let out a deep sigh and blushed, "Kool Aid. First I tried making some rice, but I uh... spilled, And peanut butter & jelly sandwiches just didn't appeal to me."  
  
Sakura smiled widely, "Ah!" she said accepting the glass he handed her.  
  
Li smiled proudly, "It's Homemade too!!" he added as she was about to take a sip.  
  
Sakura held the drink up before her face and looked at it warily, but before she could get in another word edgewise Syaoran took up his own glass and held it against hers. "To math?" he offered as a toast.  
  
Sakura rolled her eyes. "If you insist," she said. Their glasses clinked and Sakura took a swallow. To her suprise she found it delicious. She quickly downed the rest of the glass and smacked her lips.  
  
Syaoran laughed at her antics and took a sat cross-legged on the couch next to her. "Glad you liked it!" he said taking a drink of his own. "Now how about that book of yours?" he said.  
  
Sakura managed not to groan. "Now's as good a time as any!" she said reaching back for the dreaded math book.  
  
Syaoran smiled at her. He spent the next few minutes just trying to get what page number her class was on. She apologized for not paying attention in class, but Li just waved it off. They finally got started and Sakura managed to understand about half of it. Syaoran spent a long while explaing angles and measurements, all the while Sakura deperately trying to comprehend him. She finally started to get it, but even after a few demonstrations, Sakua was still struggling a bit.  
  
"So wait, wait," she inturrupted. Sakura leaned over the book sitting in Syaoran's lap, "I thought cosine was the same as sine!" she looked curiously at Li. He stood transfixed by her green eyes peircing into his. Her face was now only inches from his.  
  
He stumbled around for the words to answer her question. "N-no, sine is the ratio of the hypo- hypotense against the length of the leg opposite an acute angle. Cosine is the same thing, except it's a- a ratio against the length of the adjacent leg. To...To the acute angle." He breathed out staring at the curves of her face.  
  
The mouth wiggled into a confused look and she let out a long breath, her head falling against his chest. "I'll never get this, " she sighed, one of her hands reached up to pillow her face against his strong chest.  
  
Syaoran stared at the girl leaning against him as his mind frantically raced aound in circles as to what to do. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. Slowly, he wrapped an arm around her, following his insticts, and Sakura leaned closer to him. He closed his eyes and tried to control his breathing. Li used his free hand to point at the thick algebra book again. He decided to start talking again to take his mind off the warm body snuggled against his. "You see, " he started confidently. He pointed to a diagram in the book. "This part here is the hypotense. It is the side opposite of a right angle. You get the cosine when you take..."  
  
Syaoran's voice melded with the steady beat of his heart as Sakura tried to concentrate on what he was explaining to her. Her eyes fluttered open and shut as she listened to his strong voice patiently trying to get her understand something he knew so well. That was so like Syaoran- taking time out of his day to help her with something that came so easily to him, Not giving a second thought before lending a hand to help someone. Of course, she was very grateful, but it was hard to concentrate. She just felt so comfortable here leaning against one of her best friends.  
  
Though she'd often wished they could be more than simple friends, right now, sitting so closely to him...this was just as good. She could feel his strong muscles underneath his shirt. His voice wandered in and out of her thoughts, smooth and comforting  
  
She smiled as Syaoran's arm gently tightened around her, as if he was afraid to let go of her. They fit so snugly together. It just felt so...right.  
  
She let out a contented smile, not having a care in the world, just satisfyed with merely being able to enjoy being so close to the man that she had been drawn to for so long.  
  
Syaoran felt Sakura relax against him and stole a glance at her as he went on about all these silly right angles and tangents. His voice trailed off and he gazed at the beautiful Sakura leaning against him.  
  
She looked so beautiful. So at peace.  
  
He almost felt afraid to disturb this lovely angel. Syaoran couldn't tell if she was still awake, or if she was asleep, but he dared not do anything to end the long moments he had to gaze upon his beautiful cherry blossom. 'My Ying Fa...' he thought. It was a pet name he'd used for a while, Chinese for cherry blossoms. The name fit her so well, a beautiful flower for a beautiful woman.  
  
His hand floated up almost on its own and stroked her cheek softly. He trailed a finger down the side of her face and a slow smile bloomed on the girl's face. Syaoran let out a soft smile too. How often he'd wished to do that! To just be able to stroke her face or give her a comforting touch.  
  
Li held his hand there against her face for a few moments then ever so slowly, Sakura's eyes fluttereed open. Her green eyes piercing right through his amber ones. The gentle Chinese warrior's breath caught in his throat, nearly paralyzed by those beautiful emerald eyes. Sakura seemed to be suffering of the same reaction. Slowly, she managed a smile, not daring to take her eyes off Syaoran's face. "Hi," she whispered.  
  
Syaoran's fingers traced a line down the side of her face. "Hello." he breathed.  
  
Sakura tried to take a breath trying to compose himself in the eyes of her best friend. She could still feel his steady heartbeat and wondered why her own was not as steady. She didn't move an inch, didn't dare to, not wanting to let the precious time she had to spend alone with her one and only to end. Being near him was soothing, and Sakura was very tired. But she had to say something, she couldn't just sit there staring into his beautiful eyes the whole day. (Though she didn't find a problem with that.)  
  
Syaoran watched her contemplate something within herself. She closed her eyes for a moment, and he was deprived of the sight of her amazing jade eyes for a few seconds. Short as it was though, Syaoran caught himself wishing for more, to be able to spend a lifetime just staring in to those wonderful eyes.  
  
"Sorry I dozed off..." Sakura started, opening her heavy eyelids again, "I really do appreciate you helping me out and everything." Syaoran smiled that dazzling smile that he only wore for her. "Maybe I could come over again sometime and we could get some more work ....." she was inturrupted by a yawn, "...done. Just-- Right now I'm just really..." her eyelids dropped a little lower. "I'm just..." her voice got softer. Syaoran silenced her soft words with a finger to her smooth lips. Her eyes flew back open.  
  
"It's okay." Syaoran said smiling the smile that would light up a room, "Just sleep." he said. Sakura tried to nod, but before she had said another word her had closed once more and she drifted back to sleep.  
  
Syaoran smiled at his beautiful goddess. Even as she had been falling asleep she was still thinking of him before herself. Syaoran changed his mind, her eyes may have no rival, yes, but he was content to simply sit here and watch over her for a lifetime and more. He brushed a hand over her smooth face and whispered, "I love you...My Ying-Fa."  
  
  
  
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~  
  
Yeeee!!! Wooo-Hooo! *sigh*  
  
This chapter contained a lot of silly fluff that I'm hoping will make up for *ahem* the last chapter's rude language.... Yeah. Sorry about that, I think I had one too many cups of coffee before I wrote that. I was hoping this to be a nice fic, not a 'hormones on the rage' fic. But I won't remove it, because it's just a part of the story now, and well, it is kinda funny!  
  
Also, I apologize for Syaoran's out of character-ness. I guess it slipped my mind that Li actually is Mr. Maid and a great cook, but for this fic, I guess it'll have to work.  
  
I think I've slipped too much from the main idea, so between the next chapter or two (or the one after that) I'll begin the actual Halloween Party, which I'm hoping will meet up to your standards after all the guffaw I've tacked on to it. But I have a feeling it'll be extremely cool. (After all it must be after being struck by inspiration during biology class and getting in trouble with the teacher for 'un-nessecary giggling' and 'wasting class time')  
  
[*[*[ NOTE-- YES, There was more to this chapter than mindless fluff!!!! (I think...) Sorry there wasn't more 'action' too. That will be saved for a later chapter, just read to find out...^_~ ]*]*]  
  
Now I should stop writing these silly Author's Notes and start the next chapter, right?  
  
Right!  
  
Until the next chapter! --which will most likely come out faster if I get a lot of reviews (hint hint)--  
  
I hope you enjoyed it!! 


	6. Preperations

A Boy, A Girl and a Halloween Party  
  
~BaBySmurf~  
  
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~  
  
"Ow, Watch it!" Syaoran said rubbing his arm where he'd been poked.  
  
Tomoyo put her hands on her hips, "Well maybe you should pay attention when I tell you to move!" she said grabbing some more pins off of a shelf, "What is it that has you so sidetracked anyway?" she asked slyly as she began to work on the costume again. Li was staring at nothing in particular, After a few moments Tomoyo jabbed him with the needle again.  
  
Syaoran yelped and "Hey, That time you did it on purpose!" he said turning around and glaring at her.  
  
The black haired girl smiled sweetly, "I'm sorry Li, Please don't be mad at me." she said grinning.  
  
Li looked warily at Tomoyo as she went back to fixing up his costume. After a minute or two she stood back to admire her work. "Perfect!" she smiled widely and grabbed her video camera. Li endured Tomoyo as she told him to stand here or hold this or look that way so; she could get the best possible angles for her camera. After a good while she ushered Li back into a room where he could change back into his usual clothes.  
  
Tomoyo waited impatiently by the door tapping her foot. A sudden ring interrupted the silence of the room and Tomoyo dashed for her cell phone, knowing already who it would be.  
  
"Hello! Sakura guess what! I-" she paused and looked confused as a strange man on the other end of the phone stopped her. She listened for a moment, and then a smile of understanding washed over her face. "Oh!" she exclaimed, "Yes, yes about the party!" she paused again as the continued to speak. "Of course! That would be perfect!" Tomoyo nodded excitedly. "Will they be supplied with costumes? ....... Sure, that's perfectly all right, though there is a couple of my own that I'd like them to wear ....... Um, You'll need to send your people over a good couple of hours before to get themselves aquatinted with the building, and I'll have to explain to them exactly what they're supposed to do ....... Oh No, It's not too difficult, but it is extremely important that they do their job right. ....... Uh-huh ........ Yes, that is a must, along with a couple fog machines. Also I saw this ad in your catalog, you had some sort of special lights ....... Yeah, those. I'd like to rent them out also."  
  
Tomoyo grabbed a piece of paper and jotted some notes down. "Of course. Of course. Did you receive my list yet? ...... HA! Of course it was! And that's not the half of it! I'll need some of your special candelabras for the main hall and lots of candles for along the hallways ..... OH! You can- ..... You can get those??? ....... Oh certainly!! You know me! My only concern is whether or not they're dangerous."  
  
Syaoran stepped out of the room behind her tucking in his shirt. He went unnoticed by Tomoyo and found a seat on a nearby chair. "Oh, Thank-you! That's great. And you're going to stop by tomorrow to get all the measurements correct right? .... Good!" Tomoyo had a broad smile on her face at the recent news of her upcoming plans for the party. "Thank-you so mu--" Tomoyo paused uncertainly, ".....Oh......Uh-huh .... I forgot about that ..... Ummm-hmmm." Tomoyo unconsciously lowered her voice, "Right, right. Yes, bring that over immediately ... Yeah as soon as you can ... I don't care when! Just bring it over as fast as you can." Tomoyo was silent for a moment more, "O-Okay. You know what I mean right? Yeah the big one that has all of the different settings and controls ... Yeah that. Of course .... um-hmm ..... Okay! Thank-you so much Mr. Ravoldni! I will see you soon." Tomoyo hung up and began to scribble hastily on her notepad. Syaoran cleared his throat, but Tomoyo didn't hear him.  
  
He slowly crept up behind her trying to get a glimpse of what she was doing. Syaoran had no idea what the crap she'd been talking about but he guessed that the only thing Tomoyo would talk that urgently about would her party. He peered over the girls shoulder. She was drawing amazing decorations and plans on an intricate picture of a very large ballroom, probably one of many in her house. Syaoran's eyes widened at the incredibly detailed decorations.  
  
He let out a whistle and Tomoyo's pencil dropped. She spun around and jumped out of her chair staring at Syaoran wide eyed. Tomoyo scowled at him and cut right to the point, "How long have you been here?" she asked crossing her arms across her chest.  
  
Syaoran held up his hands to shield himself from Tomoyo, "Not long! Not long at all! Why so defensive Tomoyo?" he asked. She glared menacingly at him and Syaoran rushed on. "I just came back and I overheard some stuff. Of course it wasn't anything serious or anything. Was it! Just some silly unimportant details about some not-so-special party Right???"  
  
Tomoyo eyed him for a moment and contemplated something in her mind. "Hmmmmm....." she thought. Syaoran looked expectantly at her and she appeared to have come to a conclusion. A silly grin appeared on her face and she squealed in excitement. "Ok, ok, I'll tell you!"  
  
Syaoran looked confused, "What?"  
  
Tomoyo grinned again, "I have some very important plans for the party! There's going to be so much stuff! It'll be so awesome! I've got lots of stuff planned, oooohhhh!" she squealed again.  
  
Syaoran rolled his eyes, "Come on Tomoyo!"  
  
The overexcited teenager found a piece of paper on a table and started to drawing wildly. "Anyway, This is the main hall, where most of the party will be going on in. I'll have these black curtains hanging all over the place, to give it sort of a mystery effect." Tomoyo was gesturing all over the paper and talking very fast. "This part her will be raised, sort of like a platform, that's where some of Mr. Ravoldni's men will be performing, Oh, have you ever seen him perform? It's so real! And freaky too! It'll be so-- anyway, there will be games scattered around- mostly just the usual, bobbing for apples, digging for brains, OF COURSE a costume contest (unfortunately, you and Sakura will have to be exempt because I made your costumes- darn rules!) and lotsa other games too! But that's not the important part of the party- The best part is the beginning when every- " Tomoyo stopped short and a look of pain crossed her face, "Argh! I can't tell you!!" Tomoyo desperately wanted to tell someone about her plans at the moment- there was just too much excitement for one person to hold.  
  
It'd be okay to tell just one person right? "Okay- here I go," she started, "I have something very important and exciting planned for the Halloween Party. I'm gonna--" Tomoyo stopped short and frowned. On second thought she highly doubted that Syaoran would approve. I mean, Anyone could see how VERY protective he was of Sakura. Nope, this would definitely not go over well with him.  
  
Syaoran waved a hand in front of the black-haired girl deep in thought. "Is anyone in there...?" he asked. Tomoyo was lost in thought and barely heard him. Of course it may be a whole lot different if he'd just get over himself and tell her he loved her. Then Syaoran would at least be a little more easy going on her plans. But that wasn't gonna happen anytime soon. Li's to scared to tell Sakura how he feels because he's afraid he'd reject her. Hmph. Fat chance. She was just as in love as he is. All Tomoyo needed to do is get them alone together and make them confess their feelings. 'When could I possibly do that before the party?' Tomoyo thought sighing.  
  
Unless... she did got them together AT the party.....  
  
A grin broke onto her face and she squealed in delight as a thousand new ideas bombarded her. She turned sharply to Li barely containing her giggles and said , "Li, go away, I've gotta work on some more stuff." she whirled back to her desk and grabbed the nearest piece of paper.  
  
"What?" complained Li. "Tomoyo what are you doing?" he asked trying to get a look at the paper that was rapidly filling with plans and ideas.  
  
Tomoyo giggled and glanced up from her work. "Leave Li!" she said trying to keep a straight face, "I'll finish your costume. Thank-you for coming, I'm sure Drake will be able to escort you out." Almost by magic a tall man appeared and shooed Li out of the room.  
  
Tomoyo spent the next few hours glued to her desk. She made a few phone calls to ensure one thing or another. She managed to pull a few strings and got a few extras for the party. Finally when everything was pulled together, she grabbed the phone and called up her partner-in- crime/boyfriend to tell him of the new plans.  
  
~@~@~@~  
  
~~the day before the party~~  
  
The Daidouji mansion was bustling with activity. People were running to and fro carrying all sorts of things from silly streamers to large and intimidating pieces of machinery. And in the midst of all this hustle and bustle standing on one of the lower balconies facing the front lawn was Daidouji, Tomoyo directing some semblance of order into it all. 5 big black vans were parked on the opposite side of the street, and a group of men dressed in black scurrying from the vans to inside the huge estate.  
  
Tomoyo watched giddily as the men in black carried another rather large item across the lawn. A small woman scrambled up to the teen who was trying to shout orders to a crew of workers trying to assemble some lights in the yard, and at the same time film the goings-on with her video camera. The older woman cleared her throat and quietly said, "Miss Tomoyo?"  
  
The girl's long black hair flew behind her as she whirled around to face the small woman. "Oh, yes, what is it?"  
  
They graying woman let out a small bow, "Mr. Ravoldni would like to see you for a moment."  
  
"Ah, Lead him in!" Tomoyo said turning back around to film some more of the near chaos below.  
  
A few minutes later a tall man in a black suit carrying a large briefcase appeared at the entrance way to the balcony. he tapped his custom- made leather shoes sharply on the hard floor and waited for Tomoyo to turn around and face him. Tomoyo shut off her camera, hiding her reluctance and turned to give Mr. Ravoldni her full attention, as was the only way to do business with him.  
  
The man strode forward and set the briefcase on the railing of the balconies. He balanced it there leaving it unopened and rested his hands on it. He stood silent for a few minutes and Tomoyo waited for him to speak. Mr. Ravoldni twiddled with his neatly trimmed mustache and speculated for a moment on how to present his news. He spun on his heels to look her straight in the face and brought folded his hands neatly before him. "Miss. Tomoyo," he began in his British accent.  
  
Tomoyo lost in her thoughts during the previous moments silence didn't hear him. She stood admiring how nicely the sun bounced off his slick greasy hair. Mr. Ravoldni stamped his foot angrily, "Miss Tomoyo! IF you don't mind!" he said sharply.  
  
Tomoyo shook her head and smiled apologetically at him, she waved her hand, "Do Go on!" she said trying to humor the man.  
  
Mr. Ravoldni looked angrily at the girl and started again. "I've had my men search through all of my vans, but nowhere did I see the..." his eyes shifted. "Well... you know of what I'm speaking." he said.  
  
Tomoyo smiled dumbly, "No I don't." she said still grinning.  
  
Mr. Ravoldni sighed and leaned closer to him, "Well, you know the ....." he whispered something and straightened again "Well It's missing." he pronounced stubbornly.  
  
The smiled dropped from her face faster than he could blink. "WHAT!" she shouted dropping her beloved camera.  
  
Mr. Ravoldni looked over the large estate at the fumbling workers below and sighed wistfully, "Well, who knows! With the right motivation, my men just might be able to come up with them.." he said stealing a look at Tomoyo.  
  
Her eyes darted around as she desperately tried to think of some plan. A stern look crossed her face and she stared Mr. Ravoldni in the face. "$2,000." she pronounced.  
  
Mr. Ravoldni turned back to the grounds, "Of course it's probably just lost back at our warehouse back in Nebraska. It could take anywhere from days to-"  
  
"5,000!" Tomoyo interrupted.  
  
"-2 hours!" Mr. Ravoldni finished with a smile. "I'll be back with your... your machinery as soon as possible." he picked his suitcase up and started with a snap in his step back out the door.  
  
Tomoyo grumbled under her breath muttering, "Stupid thieves that's what they are!" She picked her camera back up and dusted it off. "He may be good, but this is absolutely the last time I hire him!" She inspected her camera quickly to see if it was in any way damaged and slipped it back into it's usuall spot between her hands.  
  
  
  
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~  
  
Did I give away to much in this chapter? I dunno. Well either/or, I hope you liked it. Also, I would prefer not to be chased with pitchforks and torches for those of you who are not happy about how long it takes for me to type up each chapter. Please instead choose to sit patiently in a soft, padded room until I crank out the next chapter.  
  
I AM SO SORRY I WAS SO SLOW!!! But my mom forbid me to write anything until I finished my science report that I've had for a month- it's due tomorrow and I haven't touched it.  
  
I hope I satisfied you all with this chapter, and I PROMISE that the next chapter will start the party.  
  
Please keep reviewing! For those of you who don't know, that's my favorite part of being an author, getting reviews!  
  
Thank-you for reading!! Look for the next chapter sometime soon!  
  
One last thing, I just today noticed that I never put any disclaimers in any previous chapters, and I'm guessing that I'll probably forget to put it in future chapters. But here goes, This disclaimer will go for all chapters, not just this one. If you wanna get picky then you can just paste this one onto other chapters. I think disclaimers are ugly, and they take away from the story with all this legal junk. Anyway:  
  
~@~  
  
**Please note that I do not own CCS, I don't think I will ever own CCS, please don't assume I own CCS, and please don't bug me about not owning CCS. I'm just writing so others can get some enjoyment out of it- Plus it's fun!**  
  
~@~ 


	7. Party Nite

A Boy, A Girl and a Halloween Party: Chapter 6 a.k.a. The Chapter that Refused to be Written

                             ~BaBySmurf~

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Disclaimer: i don't own .. blah-Dee-blah-dee-blah.... i never have .. doo-bee-doo-bee-doo... and never will... la la la. Woah, did you really just read that? i mean are you really that bored? it's a disclaimer. whaddaya esspect? there's nothing special here. NO really, there's not. it's just like every other disclaimer.  ..... uh yeah... nothing special. ...... hey, look down there! \/ \/ \/  *runs away*

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

~~Saturday... party night~~

      Sakura shifted in her spot and uncrossed her legs. She let out a long sigh and stared hard at the dress laying on a chair before her. She tried not to look at the clock as she eyed her dress closely. She crossed her legs again and folded her arms. 

Her eyes darted at the clock and watched the numbers click 1:20 PM. She let out a long breath and stood up. Sakura shoved her hands into her pockets and  started to pace around the room. "Still 6 more hours and 40 minutes till the party." she muttered. 

      The usually carefree cheerleader clasped her hands behind her back and halted her pacing in front of her gorgeous dress.  She ached to wear that dress again. It was like that dress was made for her- well it was, but it was like this dress was hers, and hers alone. It would be pretty on anyone else- It would be positively gorgeous on Sakura. 

  Tomoyo had definitely agreed that Sakura was probably the only one who could put that gown on and do it justice. Heck, Sakura could put anything on and it'd look good.

    Sakura's green eyes followed the length of the dress down and she pondered whether Tomoyo had spent just as much time and care preparing Syaoran's costume. The cunning videographer had kept his costume a complete secret from her, and did the same with Syaoran, keeping Sakura's costume a secret from him. Sakura picked up the complicated tiara that went so beautifully with the outfit. She absent-mindedly ran her fingers over the bands of silver entwined and spun gracefully throughout the amazing coronet. A smile found it's way to Sakura's face. Tonight was going to be so fun. Spending time with all her friends, just hanging out. Of course she was also looking forward to spending some quality time with the one boy she would always feel comfortable with. She let out a soft sigh and continued to dream of being alone with her Li.  Well, it's not like she hadn't already spent some time alone with him before. I mean she had stayed with him a few nights ago for their little 'study date' (as Tomoyo insisted on calling it,) but she'd been such a sleepy head they hadn't been able to have any just... together time. 

    Sakura smiled and fell back on her bed as she remembered what had happened. She'd remembered falling asleep in his lap,  but when she woke up the next morning, she was all alone in her own bed.  A blush crossed her face at the thought of Syaoran carrying her all the way from his house to hers. I mean, he didn't drive yet, and Sakura seriously doubted that he would have called to have her brother come over and pick her up after spending a night alone at a BOY'S place. And it was also highly improbable that Syaoran would have wanted to sit through a session of Touya's own, 'if you so much as laid a finger on her I'll---' speeches. Sure, Touya really cared for his little sister, but in certain cases (especially those concerning males, more particularly those named Syaoran) he could get a little out of hand. Sakura smiled to herself, unable to hide her blush, and closed her eyes thinking it over. Well it could happen couldn't it? I mean he didn't live that far away from her place, and hey! No, harm in dreaming right?

    A thud from the door brought Sakura out of her thoughts and she turned to see Touya's head sticking out through the doorway.  "Hey squirt. Watcha doin'? Not worrying about that lousy party are you? Ha, I hope not!" he teased grinning. 

    "Argh!" Sakura moaned and threw a pillow at her older brother for putting an end to her fantasizing. Touya ducked out of sight, and the pillow flopped harmlessly to the ground. 

  He reappeared in front of the door and picked up the pillow, "Tut, tut you little kaijuu, anger management!" he said smiling. 

    Sakura rolled her eyes and grabbed the pillow from his hands. "What do you have to say to me now?" she groaned sitting up.

    Touya pretended to look shocked and slipped onto the bed. "That's all I get? No 'Hi my wonderful older brother! How's the weather?'" he asked in a mock-shaky voice.

  Sakura giggled and shoved him off her bed, "How's the weather? Is that the best you could think of?" she said as he fell to the ground. Touya poked his head up over the bed to squint at her. Sakura feigned a sour look as Touya tried to keep a straight face. Sakura couldn't help but break a grin and Touya stood up chuckling under his breath. 

    "Well, what _are you doing then?" he asked more seriously. Sakura sighed and picked at a loose thread in her shorts. he raised his eyebrows and motioning to the gorgeous dress spread out on the chair behind him, said curiously, "...fretting about the party?" Sakura hesitated, then nodded looking him in the eye. Touya ran a hand through his not-so-neat hair and let out a sigh of his own.  "What? Well true, even though you are going to some loser party-" Sakura hit him in the arm, but she was listening, "-with some loser people-" _

    Sakura hit him again, "Touya, I'm waiting for some kind brotherly advice, but I'm getting nothing. " she smiled, "Now stop making fun of my friends or I'll throw you out of my room." she threatened poking out her bottom lip. 

    Touya tousled her hair from his comfy position on the floor, "Just playing kiddo. But I still object to this party being coed. It's unethical!  Who knows what kind of hooligans and riffraff could be running around up there! Anything could happen!" he crossed his arms and gave her a stern look. 

Sakura rolled her eyes again, "And I thought I was worrying! Touya, this party happens to be hosted by my best friend (since kindergarten, mind you!) Trust me, she'll have her eye out on everything, and I seriously doubt she would let anything happen to me."

    Touya's stoic expression didn't change, "Will Tomoyo be watching you 24/7? Noooo, she'll be way too busy with other 'important' party matters." Sakura folded her arms before her and narrowed her eyes. She opened her mouth for a comeback but Touya started again,  "I don't think you should be going to this party." he said firmly.

    "Well I don't think you should be getting on my case." Sakura  looked him square in the face and went on, "I'm 15 years old now, you don't always have to be hanging over my shoulder anymore Touya. You never think anything I do is appropriate unless you're there in the background watching over my shoulder. Even Yukito thinks you should back off a little. Touya-" her voice unconsciously hardened, "I can manage on my own." Sakura looked down from her place on the bed at her older brother kneeling on the floor ready to gripe at him some more.  She froze at the look on his face. In  moment, his eyes had changed; they looked sad and lonely. His face was free from expression, but his younger sister could see a look in his eyes that he looked like the wind had been knocked out of him.

    He sucked in a deep breath, and refused to look Sakura in the face. "Well you shouldn't be.... -It's not right for...." his voice trailed off when he just couldn't find an argument. His fingers twisted around each other. He sighed and looked up at her bright emerald eyes. "That's something I've always liked about you, Sakura..." 

_     'What? No kaijuu, no monster, just Sakura?' Sakura was feeling a little on edge now. _

      A trace of a smile crossed her brother's face. He looked down at his feet. "You are your own person." he continued, "Never letting anyone tell you what you can or cannot do." He looked up at her again, his smile more evident now. He slowly stood up and reached out like he was about to ruffle her hair again, but at the last second changed his mind and shoved his hands into his pockets. "You're not so little anymore are you kiddo..." he said  

     Sakura visibly winced, she could tell she had hurt her brother's feelings. "No, I guess I'm not," Sakura couldn't help it as the words tumbled out of her mouth. "But it's not like I'll disappear if you aren't monitoring my every movement, so why do you keep treating me like I am!" Sakura winced at her own words and the annoyance she'd heard in her voice. 

    Touya closed his eyes, and after a long uncomfortable pause, started speaking again, "Sakura, a long time ago I didn't."

   Sakura raised her eyebrows. 

     Touya's deep brown eyes opened again, "But then something happened, and I swore that I would never again let you out from under my protection."     

Sakura's eyes widened, what could this be leading to?

    "Our mother was just like you..." he said his eyes going out of focus for a moment, "She was always kind and considerate of others," his gaze hooked on his sister for a moment, "and she looked exactly like you." Sakura held her breath and waited for him to go on. It wasn't that the Kinomotos didn't speak about Nandeshiko, their deceased mother, it just happened rarely, and when they did speak about her, it was usually pretty emotional. "If there was one thing Mother loved to do, it was go out on her own. She would go out on her little adventures with her friends, like you do sometimes," Touya said as he studied his sister's face. 

    Again, Sakura found herself holding her breath. What was he getting to? 

"She liked to go out- she could only stay in one place with nothing to do for just so long. So whenever she up and went, we didn't think too much of it, she could take care of herself, and she would never be gone longer than a few hours." his eyes glistened,  "I even went with her sometimes." he sighed. "We didn't think we had anything to worry about." Touya swallowed hard and let his weight fall onto the bed,  ".....Then one night.... it all went wrong.."

~@~13 years ago~@~

Nandeshiko fiddled with her pen and watched her son work intensely on his homework. She smiled at his childlike innocence- his eyebrows furrowed as he struggled with his work.  She looked back down at her lap, where she was doodling in one of her half-full notebooks. A sketchy drawing of her son was scrawled on to the page. Nandeshiko smiled and long auburn hair bounced around her face as she idly tapped her foot, listening to the slow tick-took of the clock on the wall. She restlessly watched the seconds tick by and the noise of the clock grew louder. Nandeshiko couldn't take it anymore. She jumped up, breaking the silence. 

  A 9-year old Touya looked up from his textbooks questioningly at his mother. Nandeshiko smiled, "How about we go for a walk, little T?" A smile bloomed on his little-boy face. He jumped up and scrambled to his mother's side, even as he'd grown older, he would never pass up a chance to have some alone time with his mom. Together they left the house where a baby Sakura and Fujitaka slept peaceably together, and marched down the street arm in arm. 

It was in the middle of October, and a bit chilly. It was cold out, and the two had forgotten their jackets at home. Nandeshiko found it'd be a good idea to jog for a bit to keep themselves warm, and made a game out of it, chasing her son as he sped away in mock fright.  The two raced down the darkening street. "I'm winning!" shouted Touya pulling ahead of his mother.                          

Nandeshiko giggled and grabbed her son, swinging him around in a circle. Touya shrieked in delight and laughter filled the empty street. Touya grinned toothily at his mother and burst into another fit of giggles. Nandeshiko smiled warmly at his innocent face and continued walking with an arm wrapped tightly around her son.  They wound their way down empty streets, arm in arm- A mother and her son. 

 Pretty soon a fog was began to set in, and Nandeshiko hurriedly tried to steer them towards a direction close to home. The fog gradually built up, getting thicker by the minute- soon enough they seemed to be wandering aimlessly down the streets. Touya grasped his mother's hand in his small palm, "Mom, wh-where are we?" he asked nervously, his wide eyes straining to see in the dark.  

Nandeshiko squeezed his hand reassuringly,  "Not to far from home! Just stick close to me, and we'll be home faster than you can say lickety-split!" she said with a warm smile. 

 Touya let out what could pass for a giggle considering the circumstances and held his mother tight. Nandeshiko walked forward confidently down the streets she knew so well, but under the gray of the fog, everything seemed strange and unfamiliar. The lights of the street lamps through the fog were blurry and distorted; it was of no help to the two sole people in the dark. 

  Nandeshiko kept a watchful eye out for any sign at all of where they were. The fog was very thick now and she could barely see a few feet in front of her. Nandeshiko wasn't bothered though, she kept walking at a steady pace, giving her son the impression she knew exactly what she was doing. Of course in reality, she was racking her brain for some hint that would help them find their way home out of the blurry gray that was the night. Touya followed his mother obediently, fully trusting in her abilities as his mother to get him home safely.  

They wound their way through what seemed to be endless streets, totally oblivious to their surroundings,  thanks to the blinding fog. Touya stumbled forward and shivered, the cold seeping under his clothes, and chilling him quite considerably. Nandeshiko, noticing this, bit her tongue and continued her attempts at navigating the two around in the dark. 

 They seemed to be getting nowhere fast, almost as if they were doing nothing but traveling around in big loops. Nandeshiko turned around in a slow circle, seeing nothing through the thick night air.  Touya shivered next to her and clung to Nandeshiko's long skirts. The boy's mother vainly tried to peer through the empty gray fog, intent only on getting her son home, warm and safe.  Their footsteps echoed loudly, the only sound in the frightening inky dark of the night.

  She hurried along the road faster, growing more desperate every second that went by without benefit to either of them. A swift wind came hurtling at them out of nowhere and Touya bit back a whimper, a soft moan escaping his lips. Nandeshiko stopped immediately lowered herself down to Touya's eye level. She clasped her own cold hands around Touya's little boy face, "Touya, don't be frightened." she said firmly. "A little fog isn't going to stop us from getting us safe home to daddy and baby Sakura! Okay?" she smiled warmly and kissed his head. 

Touya nodded and smiled weakly, pulling himself him to stand up straight. His teeth chattered involuntarily, and Nandeshiko pulled her much loved son into a warm embrace. "You're such a brave boy, Touya!" she whispered in his ear. "I love you so much."

  Nandeshiko finally pulled away from her son and pushed his black hair back off his forehead. "Now let's see..." she mumbled half to herself. She took a step towards one of the barely recognizable lampposts to see of she could get a feel for where in the world she was, Touya mirroring her movements so he wouldn't lose her in the dark. 

Suddenly realization struck her, "Aha!" she exclaimed- they'd arrived at the lip of the White Blossom Bridge; the bridge that emptied out onto an intersection that lead to their home on a quiet street. A smile erupted on Nandeshiko's face and she glanced back at Touya in relief. She grasped his hand and headed down the bridge. Touya skipped ahead with his mother, relieved to know that soon they'd be home again. 

    They trotted down the bridge, the fog thicker than ever, but no longer were the two scared that they wouldn't find their way home. The air around them was now no more than a thick gray curtain, blinding them further, but still they forged ahead. The upward slant of the bridge had leveled out, and they felt about halfway over the water.

  Little Touya let out a tiny cry as he tripped across some loose gravel and fell to the hard ground. His hand slipped out of his mothers warm palm, and he looked up, expecting to see his mother's happy face ready to help him, but found only empty gray air. 

"Mom!" he cried into the darkness. The wind tore at his tousled brown hair in reply. Touya sat up and wiped his mouth, his wide dark eyes searching through the darkness. "Mommy!" The wind whipped the shout  from his mouth and Touya pushed himself up to a standing position. He hadn't any idea where his mother had gone. His feet stumbled over the worn path of the bridge in a frantic search for his mother. "MOTHER!!!" his voice cracked and his eyes glistened, but still the words had barely left his mouth before the wind had stolen them away. He was growing more anxious by the second; his breathing quickened and his eyes grew wide.

Consumed by his distress, and too panicked to make much sense of anything, Touya didn't hear the low rumble of an approaching vehicle. A blinding flash of light and the rev of an engine was all the warning he got before it happened. 

Touya stood numbly, nearly unaware of his odd surroundings. The next few moments passed in a blur. In the blink of an eye a truck hurtled sideways across the small-town bridge, narrowly missing the little boy. 

  Touya glanced around in panic, the thick fog blinding him from most of his surroundings. Not being able to see, Touya's hearing perked up. In the next instant, his senses were assaulted by a heavy crash, then the crack of the bridge's railing. 

  In his haste to dodge Touya, the driver overlooked the second figure lost on the foggy bridge. He slammed on the brakes, wildly spinning the steering wheel to avoid hitting the slim woman, but it was too late. The truck took down Nandeshiko and blasted half way over the side of the bridge before stopping. A high feminine shriek pierced the night air before it was cut off abruptly by the fast-moving water below. Touya could barely comprehend what the shriek's unexpected end could mean, not to mention put the voice to a face. 

    Hanging in balance off the edge of the bridge, the bulky pickup see sawed on the edge of the bridge- held back only by the broken jagged railing. Touya, forced to the ground as the truck had passed him, stared in shock his eyes growing small as he watched the precarious dance of the truck's blinding headlights. It would undoubtedly take him several minutes before he realized the entirety of those few frightening moments.

Shouting in panic, the driver responsible for the terrible mess managed to back up a few feet- enough to stabilize the vehicle. The driver hopped out of his pickup and raced to the edge of the bridge, not noticing little Touya frozen in terror. The tall man shouted down to the chilly waters below but got no answer. The thick mist was ever so slowly receding, and he immediately sought out a hasty search of the water below, calling over and over again. Growing more nervous by the second, he spun around, ready to race off to the police, when he noticed little Touya. Fear and pain had caused the man's eyes to grow large, which now mimicked Touya's. Trying to keep himself as much as Touya from hysterics, the man tried to speak calmly but not being to successful, stuttered out, "It- I-- " he was cut short as a responsible neighbor appeared at the opposite end of the bridge, plainly looking to see what the commotion was all about. 

 "What going on! I heard a crash- Is everything all right?" the older man shouted as he jogged onto the bridge, his thinning red hair tossed by the wind. The man's vision was still a bit hindered by the departing fog, enough for him not to notice the void in the bridge for a moment. The neighbor jogged a few steps forward, than halted when he spotted the gaping hole in the bridge. "Oh My God," the man raced to the gap, glanced down then whirled back to face the driver. "What happened, is anyone hurt?" 

   The driver was still to much in a shock to respond, all he could do was look to Touya in helplessness. The man followed his gaze and his eyes widened with recognition. "That's the Kinomoto's kid- what's he doing out here by himself- Where's his parents," the red-haired man turned to the driver, who's gray eyes looked about in panic. The older man stalked over to the driver and glared harshly at the panicking male. The redhead, whom Touya had finally named as kindly old Mr. Kairda from up the street grabbed the driver's collar, "What'd you do, what happened- Tell me, now!!" he threatened dangerously as he shook the man. 

 The driver looked about in a panic, when Touya's small voice interrupted them from his seat across the way, "Where's my mom?" he cried weakly. "What happened to her- Where'd she go!"  

 Touya's feeble cry seemed to push the bewildered driver to words, in near hysterics the words tumbled out of his mouth. "I'm- I'm so sorry- It was an accident- I - I didn't see her, It- I didn't mean it! I swear! I couldn't help it- I swerved and then she was right in front of me- I- I tried to stop, but I--- I -- Please, I'm sorry, Don't hurt me! Please!" Mr. Kairda's eyes went blank and the death grip he had on the frightened driver's collar went slack. His feet turned his face, free from expression, to face the small boy trembling just a few feet away from him. 

  There were a few long moments, and Kairda stepped forward and stooped low to look at Touya eye to eye. After a healthy pause he spoke, his voice cracking, "Touya..." Mr. Kairda looked down and grasped Touya's miniature hands in his own. "You mother won't be coming back for a while."

   Over and over again, the scene played through Touya's mind as Mr. Kairda's words seeped into him. He heard the crash again and again in his mind, able to hear only the high pitched squeal of the tires as they skid across the pavement, the thud of the truck hitting a lithe body, the harsh shattering crash as the truck broke through the precarious railing,  and finally, a wail, a desperate shriek dropping over the bridge, then coming to an all-to-abrupt halt as a splash overtook the piercing cry. Touya's eyes blurred, he could no longer hear the words of comfort Mr. Kairda was offering him, he could only see the crash, played out in his mind over, and over, and over and over again, helpless to stop it. Over and over again he heard a shrill shriek that racked through his body, a scream that called to him, "Touya, help!" A scream that watched him sit stunned, unable to help at all, until it was cut off by the tumultuous river below. Over and over and over again.  

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

Touya's voice, void of emotion, continued, Sakura making no effort to wipe the salty tears running down her cheeks. "For one instant I let her go...." Touya watched a tear leave Sakura's chin and fall noiselessly to the bedspread. The round bead of water winked at him and Touya blinked to find only a small damp spot where it had been. 

    "That's why." he said simply. "When you started getting older, and going out so often, messing around with boys," he said the last one with a trace of habitual bitterness. "I just got worried. I tried so hard- I'm terrified that something might happen to you, like what happened to mother- I love you too much to let that happen again.... I wouldn't want to make the same mistake twice." he swallowed hard, "I wouldn't want to let down the family again." he ended softly studying his hands. A rebel tear fell from his eye and he wiped it away furiously. 

   Sakura finally managed to regain control of her voice again and countered fiercely, "Touya, you couldn't have stopped what happened that night at the bridge, it was an accident-  it wasn't your fault!" she grabbed his shoulder and forced him to look at her. "Don't punish yourself for something you didn't do- you weren't the one to let down Mom that night. and Touya- no matter what, I still love you, and I know you'd never let me down."  Sakura settled back for a moment, surprised at the truth in her own words. "And no matter what has happened or what will happen, you'll always be my big brother." she smiled truthfully and hugged her brother tight. She paused a moment to reconsider, "Okay, maybe my dorky big brother, but my brother none the less."  her voice was muffled against her brother as she hugged him. 

  Touya pulled back for a moment, "Did you say something....?"

"Not at all." she answered innocently.    

       Touya looked at her through his dark almond eyes, and managed a smile. He chuckled suddenly and stood up to ruffle her hair. He sighed and turned towards the door. "Yep, you're the greatest Sakura." He headed to the door but paused, looking serious again. "Now Sakura, this doesn't mean I'm gonna let you get away with anything!" Sakura flopped back on her bed, groaning. Touya went on, "I'm still your brother, and I'm still gonna care about what you do, the only difference is," He leaned closer, "Now you know why." He smiled and left, shutting the door behind him. 

  "Touya, Touya, Touya...." she muttered. She sat up and her eyes caught on the dress once more. She smiled, "Ya know, I don't think there is ever a time when it's too early for a girl to get ready for a party." She bounced off the bed with a grin just as her phone rang.  It ringed twice more before she finally found it, and answered: "Moshi, moshi" 

   The person on the other end didn't speak. Sakura frowned, only she, Tomoyo, Syaoran and Kero knew this number. Kero was sleeping, Tomoyo would start talking before she'd even said hello, and there was absolutely no reason for Syaoran to call her. She thought the last part with a twinge of sadness. Who would could possibly be calling her? "Hellooo?" she tried again, somewhat nervous. She knew they hadn't hung up; Sakura could hear someone breathing rather heavily into the phone. Stories of children and teenagers being abducted and killed flooded her mind. She knew she should hang up the phone, a night of watching horrific news stories filled with reports of missing children later found dead could tell her that.  '_This is crazy. Sakura, you're overreacting! Calm Down!' she ordered herself. '__Just hang up the phone and forget about it. It's probably just a wrong number, or something like that. Not some deranged killer who wants steal you from your own room at night!' she thought panicking. _

   The mysterious person on the other end of the line had finally gathered the courage to speak, "Sakura?" 

 The frightened cheerleader let out an involuntary scream and dropped the phone. 

    Sakura could hear an urgent male voice from the phone on the floor.   "Sakura are you all right?!? Sakura what happened!?! It's me Syaoran!" Sakura breathed a sigh of relief at the voice and grabbed the phone "Sakura?!" Syaoran asked again, his voice full of anxiety. Sakura nodded, and breathed heavily trying to slow her heart down. "Sakura!" Syaoran said again, louder. 

  Sakura hit herself with the phone. He couldn't see her over the phone, duh. "Hai," she replied. "I'm here." 

    "Are you okay? What happened?" he asked, sincerely concerned. 

Sakura tried to laugh, "Oh, you just scared me a bit, that's all." She blushed, and was glad he couldn't see her rose-colored face. "I'm fine now."  she smiled, her face turning redder by the second. 

  The door banged open and another unintended scream escaped Sakura as Touya rushed in. Her adrenaline was obviously still pumping. "What happened? Are you okay? Why'd you scream? What's wrong." He asked the string of questions leaving no room for Sakura's answer. "I swear, if anyone hurt you I'll-" he punched his open palm with his right hand and glared suspiciously at the locked window. 

 "Sakura!" Syaoran shouted again. Sakura hadn't heard Syaoran's last two shouts, to preoccupied with Touya and calming herself down. She had dropped the phone again, and when Touya heard Syaoran call Sakura's name he whirled around, ready to fight whoever was in the room with them. 

   He circled the room, his fists at the ready. He even probed a suspicious looking pile of laundry while Sakura gave an exasperated sigh and grappled for the phone. Obviously, she was right- her brother was definitely still gonna be the same ol' Touya, regardless of their conversation earlier, she thought with an ironic smile. "Sorry Syaoran." she apologized into the phone. She went on, "I guess I'm just a little nervous." She forced an all-too-fake sounding laugh and immediately shut her mouth, blushing all the more. 

 Syaoran seemed not to notice. "About the party?" 

"Hai. About the party." she agreed quickly. Truth be told, she was a bit more nervous about talking to him on the phone than she was about the party, but she wasn't about to admit that to him. She'd already been embarrassed enough tonight. 

  Touya had not even noticed that Sakura was talking on the phone again, so intent he was on finding the 'intruder.' Sakura rolled her eyes and threw a stuffed animal at Touya to catch his attention. He whirled around, fists at the ready until he noticed Sakura smirking. 

   She put the phone to her chest, "If you'll excuse me Touya, I'm on the phone." She raised the pink phone back up to her ear and waved Touya out of the room, "So what's up, Syaoran?" 

   Touya charged back in, "Syaoran!?! I should have known! What's that Chinese gaki doing calling you??" he asked rudely. 

   Syaoran chose (wisely) to keep silent and let Sakura handle her obtrusive brother. He was a little too nervous right now to engage in some serious glaring. Of course, you couldn't really glare effectively over the phone, but he was sure Touya would find a way to convey the message. 

  "Just a second," Sakura said into the phone, then put it face down on the bed. "Touya, Syaoran is my friend. That's what friends do. They call each other." She sounded like she was explaining something to a five-year old.  "Now please go away and let me talk to my _friend." she said. Touya looked a bit taken aback by her little speech. She could see him any minute now asking stupidly, 'you have friends????'_

  "Go on, go." she said. Sakura even jumped up and shooed him out of the room. When he finally stood in the hallway, she warned him, "And NO eavesdropping!" and the door shut in Touya's face. 

  He immediately put his ear against the wood. He heard nothing. He leaned against the door and pressed his ear hard against it. Still nothing, wait, what was that... a giggle??? That gaki was making her giggle?!?  He snorted and listened for more. Suddenly something hit the other side of the door, exactly where his head was pressed against. His head bounced hard against the door, and he found himself sitting on his butt on the ground. He heard laughter from his sister's room. Touya scowled and rubbed his head. "I'm losing my touch.." he muttered as he stood up. He scowled at the closed door once more and walked back to his room shaking his head. 

   Inside her room Sakura smiled, "Thanks Syaoran, I think that got rid of him!" She laughed again. 

   Syaoran couldn't help but grin hearing Sakura laugh: it was just so addictive! Though he couldn't help but be sobered when he reminded himself of why he'd called in the first place. "Um, so Sakura..." he started off shakily. "Uh," Wait, he didn't have to ask her right away, did he? "So watcha doing right now?" 'Smooth move, Syaoran' he thought and whacked the phone against his head. 

   "Oh, I'm just gearing myself up for the party, that's all." She answered sweetly. Sakura was going over her dress, smoothing out a wrinkle here or there. "You know I'm not to crazy about haunted parties...." she said slowly. 

    Syaoran bit back a smile, even though she couldn't see him. It was just too cute that she was 15, and was still afraid of ghosts! The words spilled from his mouth without thinking: "Aww, you'll have nothing to worry about as long as I'm there," he said lightly. A moment later he realized his mistake and shut his eyes to prepare for the disgust and humiliation he knew was to come. Had he really just say that?

  Sakura's breath caught in her throat, "Really?"

Yeah, he really had just said that, "Hai..." he forged ahead without considering the consequences, "I'd never let anything happen to you Sakura..." Syaoran bit his lip, afraid of her response to his honesty. 

   "Oh..." Sakura replied. 

Syaoran tasted blood in his mouth. 'Great...' he thought to himself, 'I've just lost my best friend because I can't keep my stupid mouth shut.' He sighed. Well at least she knew the truth. Well ...half of the truth. She still didn't know that one detail- the reason he couldn't stop from blushing whenever he saw her, or fumbling for words when she smiled at him; why it took him half the day to convince himself to call her, and why it took him another hour to dial her phone number without hanging up before the first ring. It was because he loved her- he loved her and he was too coward to tell her. 

  Sakura's voice interrupted his thoughts; he'd nearly forgotten he was still on the phone, and he blushed. 

  "Thanks Syaoran, that means a lot to me..."  Sakura's voice was tentative and soft; hearing it turned Syaoran's grimace into a smile. 

 Well, maybe he could work up the courage to ask her after all... "Um, Sakura..." he started hesitantly.

 "Yes?" she asked sweetly. 

   "I was just wondering, uh, about the party, if-uh... if it would be okay if- I mean, only if you want to... you don't have to if you don't want to, I'm only asking-" He blundered on.

 "What did you want to ask me?" Sakura interrupted. 

Syaoran shut his mouth and swallowed to calm himself down. "UH- I wanted to know-- I wantedtoknowificouldgiveyouaridetotheparty." he rambled.

  "Hoe?"

Syaoran rolled his eyes and smacked his head with the phone again. With a deep breath and being careful not to sound so foolish this time, he started hopefully, "I - wanted - to - know - if ---"  

     "Sakura!!" Touya poked his head into the door. "What time does your party start?" he asked before Sakura could accuse him of eavesdropping. 

   "8:00. Why?"

"Yukito wanted to show me something and I wanted to make sure I got home in time to give you a ride to your party."

 "Oh, okay. Thanks." She turned back to the phone. "What were you saying?" 

  Syaoran sat miserably and answered, "Oh, nothing. See you at the party tonight, okay Sakura?" 

  "Of course! Ja!"

Syaoran hung up the phone. "Right. Ja."  he muttered dejectedly.  Well that had gone over well. Syaoran stood up. He'd finally worked up the courage to make a move, and he'd bombed it out. Of course, asking if he could give her a ride wasn't much of a move, but hey, for Syaoran, it was something. 

  Well, he may have just made a fool of himself, but maybe he'd be able to try something again at the party. Nah, he'd embarrassed himself enough for one night... He started towards the bathroom feeling depressed. He looked at himself in the mirror and remembered what she'd said earlier.. "That means a lot to me." she'd said. He watched himself smile at the thought. Maybe there was a chance that she could feel the same way. Then again, maybe she was just being nice...

    Syaoran shook his head. He should just stop thinking about it, and take a shower. A shower that he needed even more, he thought taking off his shirt and noticing the small damp spots underneath the armpit. He rolled his eyes and turned the hot water on. Yep, he was just hopeless when it came to Sakura. 

~@~@~@~ 

Sakura stared at the phone for a bit. 'Well that was abrupt. Did I say something wrong?' she thought. Sakura bit her lip, well, no matter, it was a rare treat to get a call from Syaoran, and she might as well concentrate on the good. She sighed and smiled, as she thought about the good...

     What exactly had he said, his words floated through her mind, 'Aww, you'll have nothing to worry about as long as I'm there...' With a dreamy smile on her face her mind started wandering, what if there really was a chance.... a chance that maybe, just maybe, he would return the feelings that she'd felt for so long.

~@~@~@~

The Daidouji's mansion-like place was indeed a sight. It was 4 stories tall and seemed extra imposing in the night. 2 hours before at 6 o'clock when darkness had set in a spotlight set somewhere in the lawn had focused itself on the entrance. It left the rest of the building in a shadowy gloom, save for a few glowing lights coloring the windows. The walk up to the doorway was illuminated by pairs of soft white candles on the sides of the long winding path. The party had started and plenty of people had arrived. Tomoyo had originally thought to only invite a few of her friends, but as her plans had progressed she couldn't stand not to invite a good half of their grade.

   There were extravagant medieval-type torches places periodically throughout the building. A few select hallways were blanketed in fog, and Tomoyo was in heaven. She doubled as hostess and official videographer. She sashayed around the main hall where her guests were wandering in and out, decidedly having a ball, Tomoyo in turn greeted all those who came with a smile and a ready camera. She dared not miss a moment of this most excellent party. Of course, it was impossible for her to be everywhere filming everything at once, but Tomoyo, as always, had a solution to everything. in a single room not far from the main hall, dozens of screens documented everything that was going on in her mansion. She'd taken great care in arranging the each and every camera, and she was oh, so proud of herself. The only thing keeping Tomoyo locked in side that room silently observing her guests was the promise of having it all recorded and on tape.  Another of her rather more ingenious ideas. 

   Tomoyo herself was thoroughly enjoying herself as she played the hostess. She couldn't keep a smile on her face as she bounced around to the various teenagers dressed in some of the most outrageous costumes. She made sure to greet everyone of her guests that came in through the thick double doors at the entrance to the great room. She smiled every time one of her friends stumbled in looking totally bewildered until they'd realized they'd finally found the party. 

   One such guest was wandering in now Tomoyo noted, and she bounded over to say hello. She grinned at her friends as they recovered from their confusion and applauded her for an excellent party. 

  Tomoyo laughed, "Oh, but it hasn't even started yet!" She herded Chiharu inside, then turned to close the doors once more. "Hasn't Yamazaki come with you?" she asked surveying the outside hallway before shutting the doors with a dull thud. 

   Chiharu smiled, "Oh he'll be in any minute. Seems he's gotten himself into an argument with one of them metal suits lined up in one of the hallways." Chiharu's eyes went wide. "How did you manage that anyway? i could've sworn that it was just another old empty suit of armor when suddenly he clanks over and strikes up a conversation with Yamazaki!" 

  Tomoyo hid her smile. "That's for me to know and Yamazaki to find out," she admitted mysteriously. She expertly changed the subject, "Chiharu that costume is just adorable! You'll just have to tell me where you got it!" Tomoyo insisted as she whipped out her camera. 

   The two girls headed away from the entrance, Chiharu amicably chattering away about her scandalous little pink bunny outfit. Tomoyo skipped off to greet the newcomers as the two friends were soon joined by others admiring Chiharu's American-made costume. She sighed contentedly to herself. Yep, it was just lovely playing the hostess. she thought to herself. She nodded to the handsome young band members she'd hired as she passed them by with her camera. This party was just amazing!

~@~

The full yellow moon stood out courageously in the dark October sky. It was Halloween, and that moon had front row seats for what was sure to be a most incredible night. 

From the street a good ways from the house, a  gorgeous princess nearly flew from the van she'd arrived in. The girl raced up the winding path and arrived breathless at the door, almost half an hour late from when she'd meant to arrive. The teenage royal raised her hand to knock as she caught her breath. Surprisingly, her hand caught nothing as the door swung open for her to reveal a dimly lit corridor.  The girl smiled at her friends attention to detail. The honey-haired beauty lifted her trailing skirts and crossed the threshold with a smile upon her face. The heavy door shut behind her with a snap and the smile on Sakura's face dimmed as she reminded herself that she'd just entered a haunted house. 

  Sakura swallowed and took the only path down the corridor. While most of the hallway was half concealed in shadows, not to far away was a pedestal lit up from above. Sakura cautiously made her way towards it as she tried in vain not to think about vampires and ghosts and purple hairy monsters jumping up from the shadows around her. She found herself unharmed in front of the old wooden pedestal and breathed a sigh of relief. 'If this is how the whole nights going to be,' she thought to herself, 'I don't think my blood pressure will be the same again.'  

 She glanced down at the pedestal in front of her. A brown leather book cloaked in cobwebs lay open before Sakura. Her sparkling jade eyes followed the course of the page as she read.

You have entered the house,

A house you won't leave,

Until you've had your fill

Of games and tricks and good ol' friends,

Of music and horror and fun.

But nothing comes without a price. 

To enjoy our fine company

We must be found. 

Hidden somewhere in this haunted old house, 

You will find us

But you will also find terror. 

Be quick-

the longer you spend in the maze, 

the hungrier THEY will get

It is up to you 

To make it through

The horror of House Daidouji

We are waiting...

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows. That sounded almost... threatening! She bit her lip. 'Are there really horrible ugly beasts in the house that will eat me if I take a wrong turn?' Sakura swallowed. Of course not. Tomoyo may have her moments, but there was no way she'd set wild animals loose on her friends for staying in her house too long.  Sakura smiled again, confident once more. She'd just take her sweet little time and use her head to find her way safely through the maze of Tomoyo's house.  Hey, for Sakura Kinomoto, Card Captor extraordinaire, a little hide and seek would be a breeze. Sakura took a confident step forward toward one of the three doors leading out of the hallway. 'A breeze. Nothing to be afraid of. ' she reminded herself as she pulled open the door. Sakura's ears prickled at a sound behind her.. it sounded like... growling? Sakura vanished through the door and it swung shut noiselessly

~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~

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Hey look, it's me again! Alive and intact with no visible scars! [grumble-mumble] at least not yet [/grumble-mumble] Well i hope you all thouraghly (how in the WORLD do you spell that stupid word!! Thourally? thouraghly? thuraghly?) enjoyed that chapter. That loooooong, juicy chapter. My blood and sweat went into that chapter! Sure it took me what, 5? 6? 7? months? But hey, now it's out, and you can all dance around singing praises to my all mighty muses who worked so hard for me to get this chapter out *points accusing at the three muses hibernating under a rock* (whisper: hurt THEM not me!)Anyway i can't wait for you all to review this chapter. Me is oh, so, nervous bout this one, and whatever you have to say is important to me. Thanks for taking the time out of your oh so busy lives to read my pathetic attempt at a story. Until next time. 

CHOW! (er, i mean CIAO!)

Libber-fish a.k.a. ~BaBySmurf~

Oh wait, by the way, no promises but I'll try to get the next chapter out in maybe... hmm.... 3 weeks?  okay, gimme a month- it'll be better that way, i promise (: ] hey, with the speed this story is moving at, maybe you'll be able to read the next chapter by NEXT Halloween. NO NO! I'm only kidding, please put away your switchblades, i wouldn't be that cruel. anyway, who's up for my excuses?

MY VERY BELIEVABLE AND VERY TRUE EXCUSES FOR TAKING SO LONG TO FINISH THIS STINKING CHAPTER:

         a. my dog ate my floppy

         b. i was abducted by wild partying aliens who kept me up in there ship for a couple months until they ran out of  

         c.  i was busy. YES, contrary to popular belief (BLAKE!) i DO have a life. 

         d. my computer died. Yes, it died before i had a chance to save all my work on my floppy, then had a miraculous recovery so i COULD save it all, then went back into a coma. I'm praying for a miracle. OR a new computer. Whichever comes first.  

         e. i got the measles. no wait, i think it was the mumps. Hmmm, on second thought, they did look a lot like chicken pocks... Oh well. er wait, yeah. I was sick. .... achoo.... ahem.

         f. i was away on vacation to a wonderful sunny beach where i got a wonderful sunny tan and met some wonderfully sunny tanned hot guys and had a wonderfully sunny vacation. 8) Oh yeah. 

         g. My floppy imploded. yep. I wrote so  so so so so much, that it got overloaded and had to abort mission. :D This also is what caused my computer to die. (see d.)

         h. i suffered from a horrible lack of inspiration. *points again to the three muses hibernating under a rock* my wonderful muses decided to take their own vacation, which apparently, will last them until the story is finally finished and they can come out, wake up and take all the credit. 

         f. The doctor said i couldn't. He said i had a terribly overactive imagination and i was forbidden to go near an empty page, or even a pencil for a long time. no wait, hmm, i think he might've meant overactive bladder...   ;)

         g. school. it made me all confuzzled like. *sigh* least i still know my abc's! ABCDEFGHFG H F G.... F... H... G? well, at least I still have my sanity. no wait... i think it ran away too... :(

DOn't even ask.

-May the force be with you

..... er.. what's my name again?


	8. It Begins

:hides head in sand: remember me? I'm afraid to say anything more because you'll all just get pissed. hey look, notice how there's no endless excuses? ok, I'll shut up and begin.  
  
Recap: for those of you who've long since forgotten what in the world this story was about in the first place... here goes:: Tomoyo threw a Halloween Party- s'posed to be super scary, with 'everyone' invited. Sakura is wandering the 'maze' Tomoyo had set up prior to the actual party. Without further ado....  
  
A Boy, a Girl, and a Halloween Party  
~BabySmurf~  
  
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~  
  
(disclaimer- ccs, all affiliated characters and. stuff. belong to someone else entirely. that means not me. this particular story line does however belong to me. :p it counts for something.)  
  
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~  
  
The dark hallway was no longer silent; heavy breathing interrupted the uncanny silence. The swish of fabric against the hardwood floor punctuated each cautious footstep. This hallway was more harshly lighted than the one she had previously been in, Sakura noted. The old-fashioned torches threw ghastly shadows at the walls and floors, the flickering shapes sending shivers running down her back.  
  
In this crazy house, dark, gloomy hallways followed brightly-lit corridors. The twisted corridors seemed to jump up and switch places every time she turned her back. Sakura couldn't even guess how much time she'd already spent wandering the endless maze of hallways. Sakura couldn't believe that Tomoyo hadn't burrowed underground to extend this wretched maze even further. Helplessly lost, Sakura sighed in despair and continued walking.  
  
A shrill "AIEEEE!" echoed down the hallway as she walked straight into an invisible cobweb. "Oooh, when i find Tomoyo..." she muttered as she glanced around nervously, although Sakura's unfinished threat didn't sound to convincing considering the definite squeak in her voice.  
  
After a brief dash through the initial entrance, Sakura had slowed down and attempted to get herself in a holiday mood. She would stay calm, as any mature young woman would, and find Tomoyo in an orderly fashion, by systematically searching one floor at a time. What she'd do when she'd found Tomoyo, however, would be an entirely different story. Of course as all plans do, Sakura's had predictably fallen to pieces after a run-in with a flock of bats that she could have sworn appeared directly out of a wall, followed by a hallway that. thought out loud...  
  
And as a finishing touch the plan had lost all hope of being reinstated when a rusting suit of armor had turned her way with a "Greetings to you, Lady." Sakura had bolted up the nearest flight of steps, in her haste nearly trampling 2 fellow party-goers whom Sakura realized, after further consideration, probably could have helped her on her way.  
  
Now randomly wandering up and down these frightening paths, Sakura began to panic-- the fact that she knew she was panicking only causing her to panic even more. She was a cardcaptor, and there was no room in that business for people who panicked; she'd learned that soon enough... So why was she? Sakura grimaced as she passed by a window framing the full moon. Yes, that probably had something to do with it. The story Touya had shared with her earlier in the day had set her nerves on edge, and the details were still fresh in her mind.  
  
Considering this as she paced up another dark hall her wild imagination set to work... that horrible night so long ago had been just like this one... late in October, a dark night... Okay, so she wasn't actually outside, but the halls were so dimly lit she might as well have been.  
  
Sakura began to walk faster, attempting to push those thoughts from her mind. ... ... ... And she was alone, just as Touya had been. Sakura couldn't help herself. She began running blindly, chasing invisible shadows, then running from them in turn. She turned abruptly down another hallway, this one surprisingly bright. Was that someone up ahead at the end of the hall? Sakura stopped dead, not moving, not speaking; to scared to think whether or not it'd be safe to meet him. Still, her heavy breathing must have been loud enough to alert the person of her presence. He turned slowly, still a ways away from Sakura, to discover her frozen in her tracks still contemplating if she should run away or join the mysterious figure.  
  
Not yet sure if she was looking at a fellow party goes or a spook taking part in the festivities, she took a risk. "Can you help me find the party?" she called out, the words swallowed by the stifling silence.  
  
Sakura could see the person ahead of her grin, and she sighed in relief. Finally, this nightmare was ending! With a smile wider than her face she raced to join the person ahead, which she could now identify as just a boy, not some crazy ghoul. Only a few feet (or seconds) later, Sakura forgot she was wearing a dress-- she tripped over the many layers of fabric she was wearing and fell forward, throwing her arms out to brace herself only just in time. Sakura squeaked as she fell... and heard a loud rip. Gasping and completely forgetting about the boy in front of her, Sakura grabbed at the folds of fabric surrounding her in search of the imperfection.  
  
There... a small tear in the front Oh, Tomoyo would be so upset! ... Sakura couldn't help thinking a small, 'serves her right,' which she scolded herself for immediately after thinking it. Holding the tiny slit closed, Sakura stood up and glanced around. The hallway was empty. Despair clung to her now, watching as she ran to the end of the hallway, then back again, trying all the doors, desperately trying to find that silly boy. "No!" Sakura moaned slumping against the last locked door. "I'll never make it back..."  
  
She sat dejectedly on the floor feeling nothing but sorrow for herself, for a few moments, when something swatted her sharply on the head. She started and her green eyes jerked open wide... to stare right into a mirror she hadn't noticed (perhaps because it hadn't been there...) before. She saw not Sakura, Cardcaptor extraordinaire, but a sad little girl feeling sorry for herself and doing nothing to improve her own situation. How very pathetic. What was she doing here?!? This was ridiculous! 'Pull yourself together girl!' she scolded herself, then blushed to think, 'What would Syaoran think if he saw you like that!... Well most likely he'd scoop her up in his arms and hold her tell she was all better... Something that would surely be more enjoyable than this, save for the part of having Syaoran think she was nothing but a complete wimp. Well, there was certainly very little chance Syaoran would just come waltzing up the hallway, to do all the hard stuff for her- but who says she couldn't' do it herself! That's right... she'd show 'em all! No haunted house was gonna stop Sakura! Finding herself grinning, and not nearly so scared, Sakura stood up with the girl in the mirror. Determination shined in both their faces. She could do it!  
  
With renewed confidence, Sakura tried the last door. The heavy door swung open easily, startling Sakura, and already teasing her newfound nerve. Fog filled the room from floor to ceiling, wall to wall, thought she certainly couldn't see them from here. Sakura couldn't even tell what sort of room it was, the white clouds were so thick.  
  
Maybe this wasn't the best place to test her recently acquired courage... Sakura turned away, already beginning to close the door. In a blink something whooshed past her and wrapped around her waist. Without time to even gasp the cardcaptor was jerked into the foggy room, the force knocking the wind out of her and dropping her harshly on the ground. For a moment she just sat still and silent on the cold stone floor panting for breath. Sakura didn't dare open her eyes, and her heart was too busy drumming a crazy pattern in her ears to boost her confidence. Before she could convince her limbs to start moving again she heard the door slam shut. Oh this was good.  
  
Sakura tried to throttle her fear and think this through. There was only one way out of this room - the door... all she had to do was find it. Willing her eyes to open to search out the exit, Sakura gripped the only thing she could get her hands on, her dress, all the tighter. Unfortunately her eyesight could do little for her now... an almost comforting but decidedly blinding fog enveloped her. The death grip Sakura had on her dress loosed a bit then tightened again. Sakura couldn't seem to decide if the fog was doing a favor by hiding her from whatever else was in the room, or just the opposite by hiding whatever else was in the room from Sakura. Either way, she couldn't see anything further then a foot in front of her. So whatever the case was, it'd be best to get out of that room as fast as possible, she thought standing up  
  
Sakura circled slowly, looking for any sort of landmark visible from the fog. Nothing. Ok, so it was definitely some very thick fog. No matter, she'd just have to feel her way out. Silently proud of herself for staying so calm and reasonable, but still holding her breath she took a hesitant step forward. The fog seemed to muffle her own footsteps; all she could hear was her own heavy breathing...  
  
But... she wasn't breathing heavily. Sakura stopped in her tracks, her eyes squeezed closed once again, and held her breath. Yep, there was definitely some one, or something in this room with her. 'Stay calm!' Sakura tried to force her hands from shaking for fear she'd tear her dress further. The words in that first poem Tomoyo had placed at the entranceway echoed in her mind: 'Be quick- the longer you spend in the maze, the hungrier THEY will get'  
  
A tiny sliver of courage hiding somewhere in Sakura (or was it just common sense?) sent Sakura's feet moving. Not daring to run when she couldn't see anything, she trotted backwards a few steps. The breathing just grew louder, and Sakura jerked herself forward instead. Icy sweat dappled her skin. She swallowed hard, and thrust out her arms in hopeless last-chance search for the door. The breathing seemed to be surrounding her on all sides. Sakura turned wildly about, eyes wide, but all was pitch black. A whimper escaped Sakura, and having yet no luck finding... anything, she hurriedly began walking forward. Surely if she could find a wall, she'd be able to feel her way out one way or the other.  
  
She couldn't find a wall. Instead, she stumbled into something wet and let out a pent-up shriek. Warm liquid flew in all directions as the now completely terrified girl panicked, kicking her way away from anything she deemed unnatural (pretty much everything). Trying to keep her balanced as she danced out of the wetness, her dainty shoes slipped and Sakura was sent backwards with a rush. Overwhelmed and barely able to keep herself from having a heart attack, she gave up on trying to brace herself against the hard floor. A tiny voice somewhere in the back of Sakura's head grinned; at least knocked out cold she wouldn't be feeling so scared she thought her she might explode out of her skin. But the relief promised from the hard ground never came, and curiously enough, Sakura found herself not unconscious on the cold wet ground, but being held aloft quite comfortably... by a thick pair of hairy arms.  
  
She screeched and once more began thrashing about. Tears spilled recklessly out of Sakura's eyes as she threw herself at whatever was holding her captive. Her desperate wails drowned out all other noises. Sakura couldn't even think straight, all she knew was that she was surely going to die some horrible death at the hands of some monstrous creature. She couldn't even feel anymore, her emotions had been so ravaged that night; tossed back and forth from fright to relief to fright to relief. So distraught and distracted was she that Sakura didn't understand why she wasn't being shredded to pieces or tortured to death. She didn't understand the cautious words being spoken from behind. Feeling completely miserable and helpless, even a bit disgusted with herself for being so utterly helpless, Sakura blacked out, succumbing herself to whatever fate lay in store for her.  
  
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~  
  
Tomoyo laughed with her friends and eyed the entrance door one more time. She'd decided that around 8:45, almost an hour after the party had started, and 10 minutes from now, to officially open the doors to pull in any guests still struggling to find the party. 'Including Sakura!' Tomoyo thought distractedly. She idly wondered if Sakura was merely having an exceptionally hard time with the maze or just much more late than usual. Either way, she should've been here by now. Tomoyo tried not to feel irritated at her sometimes helplessly genki friend and instead concentrated on getting a few more clips of the band members currently taking a break from their excellent music making to flirt shamelessly with any and all young ladies nearby, including Chiharu, who was at the moment without her faithful boyfriend. Tomoyo smirked to herself at the cuteness of the situation, wondering also where Yamazaki had gotten off to.  
  
At the moment, the 4 band mates were taking advantage of Yamazaki's prolonged absence to compliment Chiharu on her 'bodacious' costume. She politely turned down their various offers but laughed along with the rest of the band's growing (and dominantly female) crowd. Tomoyo's grin grew-- surely the boys would extend the same welcome to Sakura, quite possibly among the more beautiful of the guests. The thought of Sakura nagged at her again. Maybe she's just... check on her.  
  
Tomoyo turned around, pulling her camera away from the rousing action, and began walking to the small side room hidden by large black curtains that were scattered about the large 'ballroom.' The whole room had a mostly dark look at the moment. Candelabras placed every few feet lit the large perimeter of the room, and larger ones hanging from the ceiling cast a soft glow on the rest of the room. More lights were trained on the band's stage, and others not yet lit were waiting for later.  
  
To the left of the initial entrance was the stage for the band, curiously named, Chimerical. A crowd of party goers surrounded the stage, even though the band was taking a break. The crowd was so large, in fact, that it trailed to the corner diagonal to it, where couches and chairs were strategically placed for those who'd prefer to 'sit quietly' and enjoy a 'friendly chat'. A few couples cuddled here or there, but most were talking and laughing animatedly. Still more people were crowded around the tables of food, snacks and more that were to the left of the entrance, opposite the stage. Tomoyo's discreet surveillance room was concealed somewhere along the left wall. The final corner was occupied by various games; the usual bobbing for apples and pin the whatnot on the figure, but what made it the most populated place besides Chimerical's stage area was the extensive wrap around balcony. There were of course, large windows set in alcoves complete with window seats along the back wall, but the balcony was obviously a mini garden.  
  
The enthusiastic hostess had just reached the door to her surveillance room when she heard her name called. With a smile on her face she turned around. It was surprisingly Syaoran, heading towards her looking pretty preoccupied. Tomoyo's smile grew as she eyed him, "Why hello Li, you're looking marvelous-- if I do say so myself..."  
  
He managed a sheepish grin; "Yeah, you really did a great job on the costume Tomoyo..." he trailed off. The boy obviously had something else on the mind.  
  
Tomoyo decided to tease him. It was so fun to! It was easier for Tomoyo to see how Syaoran had changed, from that snobby brat way back when they were capturing cards, to the boy who cared so much for his friends. Well, in particular, one certain female friend, but still... he cared. "Having fun, Li? You look a little nervous?" Tomoyo hid a grin.  
  
"Oh, no, no, It's ... great... you did a ... good job... on the party... and everything..." The half mask Syaoran was wearing hid his embarrassed blush. The tall boy was looking around expectantly, and didn't hear Tomyo's next words. "What?"  
  
"Oh... nothing... " Li was much too distracted eyeing the crowd to pay much attention to her. His search through the partygoers apparently fruitless, he turned back to Tomoyo, who was in turn distracted by something at her waist. She was frowning slightly and examining what looked like a beeper, "Oh, dear..." she muttered. Forgetting Syaoran was even there, she turned immediately to the small door. She'd pulled back the heavy curtains hiding it and had her hand on the knob when Syaoran interrupted her.  
  
"Hey, wait, I wanted to talk to you-- hey, is anything wrong?" her worried expression had him concerned.  
  
"Probably not..." She opened the door, still frowning and walked inside. "Come on in." The small surveillance room glowed blue from all the television screens crowding the walls. Syaoran marveled at the dozens of screen showing every possible place in the mansion. Most were empty hallways, dark rooms etc, now that most of the guests had arrived, but a few remained animated. There was one guy conversing with a suit of armor, and a gaggle of girls hiding out in a bedroom, to name a few. Syaoran turned to Tomoyo again, who'd immediately headed over to a control board and pushed a small button. She spoke into a walkie-talkie and a speaker crackled to life.  
  
An uncertain voice began, "Er-- I gotta problem here..."  
  
~@~  
  
"... Ms Tomoyo," The large man in black mumbled into the walkie talkie. He eyed the pale girl lying on the ground and continued after the curt reply, "Well, uh, one of your guests stumbled in here, and i gave her the usual, just eh, she didn't take too keenly to it. I tried to calm her down but eh., she's well... unconscious right now--no serious damage," he paused, "...at least i don't think so," He stopped short for a moment, as more orders came from the transmitter, then continued "I'm in the 3rd hallway on the 2nd floor, room 13 if i remember right... ... yeah, the one with all the fog," he glanced down at the girl, as the woman on the other end spoke again, "Well, eh, it's pretty dark but, hold on, i gotta light... oh! well, she's a pretty little thing... got some sort of gown on, about 15, 16 years old, the prettiest brown hair you ever saw," he spoke softer and smiled at the unconscious girl until a voice different than the previous erupted from the walkie talkie--  
  
"THAT'S SAKURA! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER YOU CRAZY--" The man in the foggy room stared curiously at the walkie talkie as the male voice was abruptly cut off. Something muffled the voices on the other end of the receiver, but he could make out his bosses voice as well as the other's pretty clearly.  
  
"Eh.. Ya there Miss?" he offered meekly. After a few more mufled seconds a breathless voice answered, "Yes I'm here, Well, eh, she'll come around soon enough, just put her in the hallwa-- Li Syaoran you come back here this minute, you can't just--"  
  
"Miss?" A few more seconds passed and Tomyo's voice again crackled from the walkie-talkie.  
  
"Sorry, yes, just put her out in the hallway, she'll come around soon enough, and even if she doesn't, I'm pretty sure someone will be around there shortly to see that all is well," she said exasperated.  
  
"Sure thing Miss."  
  
~@~@~  
  
Syaoran burst out the main doors, startling quite a few guests on his way and hurtled down the hallway. The only thought in his mind was that he must find Sakura. If she was hurt... oh he couldn't even think of the possibilities.  
  
~@~@~  
  
No sooner had the black-clad staff member deposited Sakura gently to the floor of the hallway and slid back into his station then she stirred. Her eyes opened and closed for a second. Vaguely she remembered a boy... falling to the ground... had she passed out? She took a few deep breaths and sat up easily. Why had she passed out? She remembered fog.. and feeling frightened... Sakura shook her head. Perhaps it was best not to recall why she'd passed out, she thought nervously. She slowly got to her feet...everything stable... and with a shrug she numbly began walking again.  
  
~@~@~  
  
Syaoran's footfalls pounded against the hard wood stairs and echoed around the atrium surrounding it. One thought pounded through him with each beat of his heart. To find Sakura... To keep Sakura safe...  
  
~@~@~  
  
Sakura turned onto another hallway, this one illuminated by the moonlight pouring in from a row of windows. Her shadow repeatedly disappeared and reappeared as she passed each window, growing and shrinking, until she stopped short in front of one near the end of the hallway. Could she possibly get her bearing from the outside? Sakura searched the grounds below while a cool breeze caressed her face. She was on the 2nd floor, it looked, to the right of the entranceway facing the front lawn. The grounds looked empty at first glance, but if she stared hard enough, Sakura could just pick out men dressed in black placed here and there, probably as part of activities scheduled for later that evening.  
  
~@~@~  
  
He was on the second floor now... he knew she was around somewhere, he raced up the first hallway, then the second. He grabbed a girl in a kitty costume he'd thought might be Sakura, managing to startle her quite badly, and moved on as soon as he spotted her golden hair. He didn't even hear her scream, as he darted away, so intent was he on his goal...  
  
~@~@~  
  
A noise off to her left jerked Sakura's eyes from the view. She involuntarily whimpered, when the sound came again. A ghost? A monster? More talking armor? Swallowing hard and searching the folds of her dress for where she'd stuck her key of Clow, Sakura took a careful step forward. She jumped a foot in the air and toppled to the ground, all pretended courage lost, when something shrieked.  
  
Pointedly keeping her eyes closed, Sakura picked herself up from where she'd fallen carefully. She slowly turned around, facing away from the awful piercing scream. She clenched her fists a few times and after a few seconds, she felt strong enough to open her eyes. She screamed.  
  
~@~@~  
  
Syaoran charged down the hallway. He'd already been down quite a few already, with no sign of Sakura, but he wouldn't let himself panic. He turned down the final hallway, lined with windows and barreled right into a girl a little shorter than him. She let out a terrible shriek as they both toppled to the ground. Syaoran caught a flash of pink and brown as he landed roughly on top of the girl. He raised himself up a bit to look at her, praying it was Sakura and blinked. Wide, terrified, green eyes stared back at him. Relief flooded through Syaoran-- he'd found her! A smile broke his face and he grabbed Sakura in a hug made quite difficult considering their positions. She immediately let out a hair-curling shriek, and Syaroan turned crimson as he realized where exactly he was. He scrambled to his feet and hauled Sakura up with him, still grinning, too giddy with relief of finding her and happiness at seeing her to speak.  
  
To Sakura that grin was the most frightening thing she'd seen that night. Here she was, scared out of her wits, and this huge masked man comes crashing into her... grabbing her... and grinning at her like some madman. He pulled her to her feet and she turned and ran.  
  
Syaoran stumbled back when Sakura pushed him away and ran from him. Sakura ran from him. His mouth opened but he didn't say anything.... why? She'd looked terrified... was she scared of him? Syaoran's face fell. So that's how it was? He shook the thought from his mind; this was just confusing. Why would Sakura run from him, of all people? He didn't allow himself to think of the possibilities, just began running desperately after her. "Hey! Wait!"  
  
Sakura was running as fast as she could, but she could hear he was still close on her heels. He was shouting at her to stop, but all she could hear was the pounding footfalls of herself and her pursuer. She took a hard right turn, still vainly trying to lose him, but after a few steps, she realized she'd cornered herself in a dead end.  
  
Despair flooded her not for the first time that night. She was trapped all alone in this horrible house with this crazy guy who wanted who knew what. She slumped in despair for a moment and she heard his foot steps slowing too; he knew she was trapped.  
  
Sakura straightened; there was no way she was going to give in this time. She turned around to face the man. His long black cape was swirling around him after their run. She couldn't even make out his eyes behind that black mask. He was blocking the exit, and he held his arms in front of her, as if expecting her to run into them like an old friend. He was talking but Sakura didn't hear a word he said. Instead she charged forward, trying to dodge past him, but he grabbed her arm and turned as he swung her around to face him. Immediately she was kicking and hitting with her free hand, still trying to get away. She managed a few good blows to his face before he at last managed to grab hold of her other arm. In the back of her mind Sakura registered a familiar voice, but she didn't know or care who was speaking.  
  
Syaoran was still horribly confused, and becoming dizzy on to of it, but he wouldn't be satisfied letting her go without knowing why she'd run from him. He didn't even feel the blows she was raining on his shins and feet, just spoke calmly, trying to get her to settle down. She was still struggling valiantly against him, and thought his soft words didn't seem to be calming her, didn't stop speaking in hopes something would get through, "Sakura! Sakura! Calm down! It's just me! Stop.-"  
  
Sakura's flailing legs had finally brought him down, and she fell with him. She landed atop him in a strange parady of the scene that had happened just minutes previously. Even then Sakura wouldn't stop; she continued pushing and clawing with all her strength. Somehow amidst the struggle, she managed to force the dark mask off his bruising face. In a few seconds Sakura caught sight of her 'captor's' face, and just as quickly stopped fighting him. Syaoran dropped back to the floor with a thud, as soon as she stopped fighting him. His eyes closed and he tried to catch his breath while she spoke.  
  
As though she didn't dare believe what she saw, she near-crooned: "Syaroan?" Thoroughly winded with the effort of fighting the not-so- harmless teen, Syaoran only managed to open his eyes and nod. "Oh Thankgoodnessit's you!" Sakura gasped in delight and relief all at once. She practically collapsed on top of him, hugging him tight and began to ramble off apologies of how she was just so anxious and nervous and scared, and if she'd known it was him she never would have tried to beat him to a bloody pulp, and would he ever forgive her... and Syaoran just lied there and held her, his relief at knowing she was here safe and wasn't really scared to death of him blocking out the slightest bit of embarrassment he may have felt at having the girl he'd always dreamed of sprawled across him and holding him like she was afraid he'd disappear if she ever let go.  
  
~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~  
  
[end chapter 8] :explodes with smug expression: ok! that wasn't too bad for 8 months, dontcha think?!?! :] love to all of you that kept sending me hate mail to keep me motivated!! (er...) Keep it up in the future, or i'll never write anything again (gasp!) anyway, alls i gotta do next is proofread this mess and decide i'm satisfied, [done!]then i'll throw it up on the website. hoohooooooo! :throws miniparty at fiiiinally having completed this: now i just gotta write the next chapter! ^_______^() keep reviewing! sorry for the wait! email me if you reeealy wanna list of all my excuses! (er, _), or maybe it's just that i suck at action. eheh...  
  
Lurb you allll! (dedicated to christian and her sexy bandbuds!) LiB(aby)S(murf)  
  
PS::Is so proud of self:: yaaaay! I can't believe i did it! a few pieces of chocolate cake, Yatta on repeat, and story writing is a breeze!! ::throws jello confetti and annoys everyone with these nifty action colins:: 


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